The full understanding of the mechanisms involved in bone metastasis is still unknown. It has been recently observed that host microenvironment actively influences cancer cells, leading to progressive and incurable bone metastasis. Also, it has been suggested that the interactions among cancer cells, tumor microenvironment (e.g., immune cells, cells involved in bone remodeling, stromal fibroblasts), and factors produced by these host cells (e.g., growth factors, cytokines, chemokines, microRNAs) control bone metastatic process. Greater understandings of these interactions will therefore lead us to a better understanding of the bone metastatic progression and enable us to pursue innovative and important directions toward treatments.

We invite authors to submit original articles and review articles that seek to explore the interaction between the bone metastatic cancer cells and their microenvironment. We are particularly interested in articles describing new insights into the function and morphology of the microenvironment that control bone metastatic progression.

We also invite authors to submit articles on the diagnostic pathway and the treatment of patients with bone metastasis.

Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

• Identification of factors derived from the tumor microenvironment which influence bone metastatic process
• The roles of the bone marrow microenvironment in the progression of bone metastasis
• The participation of the nervous system in the development of bone metastasis
• Innovative model systems to test and understand the molecular mechanisms of bone metastasis
• Status of biomaterial-based approaches to reveal the mechanisms of bone metastasis
• The gap between major clinical problems and basic research in bone metastasis
• The current situation of treatment for bone metastasis
• Diagnosis of bone metastasis
• Medical treatment of bone metastasis
• Surgical treatment of bone metastasis