Dormant Seeds of Metastasis (IMAGE) Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Caption On the left is a section of a pancreatic cancer patient's primary tumor, with cancer cells (red) and CK19, a marker of proliferation (green), evident. On the right is a sample of the liver in the same patient revealed 27 isolated DCCs (disseminated cancer cells). These cells are dormant, but activate when T cell levels in the patient drop, as they do immediately following surgery. This provides a clue about how to avoid liver metastasis in pancreatic cancer patients who undergo surgery. Credit Fearon Lab, CSHL Usage Restrictions None License Licensed content Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.