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D. J. WATERS, Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, Purdue University, Purdue Comparative Oncology Program, West Lafayette, IN 47907

In patients who undergo treatment for breast or prostate cancer, the skeleton is a major site of disease relapse. More than 50% of women with fatal breast cancer develop skeletal metastases, and the skeleton is the initial site of disease relapse in over 80% of men that undergo radical prostatectomy for prostate cancer. These potentially lethal skeletal metastases are a striking example of organ-preferential metastasis, a phenomenon first described by Paget late in the 19th century. Although poorly understood, critical tumor cell and target organ characteristics allow breast and prostate cancer cells to successfully negotiate the host's natural barriers to metastasis. As a result, the skeleton serves as a friendly microenvironment that favors the survival and proliferation of these tumor cells. This presentation will focus on the pathophysiology of skeletal metastasis and explore the potential role of dietary interventions in the prevention or treatment of skeletal metastases.