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| via the journal.ie |
"Cancer cells appear to depend on an unusual survival mechanism to spread around the body, according to an early study led by Queen Mary University of London (QMUL). The discovery could help with future development of novel treatments to prevent metastasis and secondary tumours.
The spread of cancer around the body - metastasis - is one of the biggest challenges in cancer treatment. It is often not the original tumour that kills, but secondary growths. These happen when cancer cells are able to break away from the primary site, travel around the body and 'seed' new tumours.
A key question in cancer research has been how cancer cells are able to survive once they break away from a tumour to spread around the body. Cells are relatively protected when they are attached to other cancer cells and their surroundings, but become more vulnerable when they detach and 'float', and normally undergo cell death.
Lead researcher Dr Stéphanie Kermorgant from QMUL's Barts Cancer Institute said: "Metastasis is currently incurable and remains one of the key targets of cancer research. Our research advances the knowledge of how two key molecules communicate and work together to help cancer cells survive during metastasis. We're hoping that this might lead to the discovery of new drugs to block the spread of cancer within the body."
The study, published in Nature Communications, examined the changes that occur in cancer cells as they break away from tumours in cell cultures, zebrafish and mice. The researchers revealed a previously unknown survival mechanism in cancer cells and found that molecules known as 'integrins' could be key..."
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