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Diversity within or between tumours and metastases (known as intra-patient tumour heterogeneity) that develops during disease progression is a serious hurdle for therapy^{, –}. Metastasis is the fatal hallmark of cancer and the mechanisms of colonization, the most complex step in the metastatic cascade, remain poorly defined. A clearer understanding of the cellular and molecular processes that underlie both intra-patient tumour heterogeneity and metastasis is crucial for the success of personalized cancer therapy. Here, using transcriptional profiling of tumours and matched metastases in patient-derived xenograft models in mice, we show cancer-site-specific phenotypes and increased glucocorticoid receptor activity in distant metastases. The glucocorticoid receptor mediates the effects of stress hormones, and of synthetic derivatives of these hormones that are used widely in the clinic as anti-inflammatory and …