Fig. 1

When normal breast cells are detached from their natural environment, this triggers changes in the corresponding structures in the cell membrane, which, by inhibiting intracellular pro-survival signalling pathways and triggering changes in the cytoskeleton, eventually causes the cells to undergo physiological anoikis. When breast cancer cells are detached from tumour tissue, the cells are altered from receptors on the cell membrane, resulting in significant activation of the pro-survival pathway and changes to the cytoskeleton, allowing the tumour cells to develop anoikis resistance after detachment from their native environment, thus allowing them to metastasise and continue to grow elsewhere