1.Ron overexpression induces highly metastatic breast cancer.The Ron receptor tyrosine kinase has recently been shown to be overexpressed and activated in a cohort of human cancers, with the most compelling data found in breast cancer.Ron is overexpressed in approximately 50% of human breast cancers, and has been shown to be an independent predictor of both metastases and poor prognosis in women with this disease.While Ron overexpression appears to be an important factor in human breast cancer and metastasis, a significant gap exists in our knowledge about the signaling pathways that Ron activates in breast tumors, and about the importance of these pathways with respect to overall tumor growth and metastatic dissemination.