The major mystery of cancer cells from "dormancy" to "waking up" is solved
will promote the development of new treatment strategies
Science and Technology Daily, Beijing, December 14 (intern reporter Zhang Jiaxin) After cancer cells leave the primary tumor, they will “dormant” to avoid immune and drug treatment, but when they “wake up”, they will spread to different tissues of the body and recur, forming Metastatic cancer.
How cancer cells stay dormant for several years and why they "wake up" have always been a major mystery in cancer research.
Recently, researchers at the Tisch Cancer Institute at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in the United States solved this critical problem.
According to the research results published in the journal Nature Cancer on the 13th, cancer cells keep "dormant" by secreting type III collagen in their surrounding environment. When the level of collagen gradually decreases, cancer cells will "wake up." .
Researchers found that by enriching the environment around cancer cells with this collagen, they can force cancer cells to stay dormant and prevent tumor recurrence.
The cause of death of cancer patients is mostly due to the metastasis of cancer cells, which is likely to occur several years after tumor resection.
Previously, scientists have studied how disseminated tumor cells end their dormant state; and this new work shows how cancer cells stay dormant.
This research used high-resolution imaging techniques, including in vivo two-photon microscopy.
This technology can display dormant cancer cells in living animals in real time, allowing researchers to use breast and head and neck cancer cell lines to track dormant cancer cells in mouse models and visually see when cancer cells are "dormant." The change in the structure of the extracellular matrix when these cells "wake up" and how it changes.
In patient samples, the researchers showed that abundant collagen can be used as a potential indicator for predicting tumor recurrence and metastasis.
In the mouse model, when the scientists increased the amount of type III collagen around the cancer cells leaving the tumor, the progression of the cancer was interrupted and the disseminated cells were forced to enter a dormant state.
This shows that the dormant state of cancer cells can be adjusted to prevent their metastasis.
Dr. Joseph Javier Bravo-Cordello, senior author of the paper and associate professor of medicine (hematology and medical oncology) at Tisch Cancer Institute, said that the results of this study have potential clinical significance and may lead to a study of New biomarkers to predict tumor recurrence, as well as therapeutic interventions to reduce local and remote recurrence.
This intervention aimed at preventing dormant cancer cells from "waking up" is a therapeutic strategy to prevent their metastasis and growth.
With the further discovery of tumor dormancy biology and the development of new specific drugs, the combination of therapy that induces dormancy of cancer cells and the treatment specifically for dormant cancer cells will eventually prevent the local recurrence and metastasis of cancer cells and pave the way for alleviation of cancer. .