Spreading cancer cells arriving in a new part of the body must
be able to change their new environment, to continue to grow,
according to scientists at the Francis Crick
Institute.
The team found that the faster their surroundings change, the
faster the cancer cells will grow.
A cancer cell that has spread to another part of the body needs
help from the tissue that surrounds it to become established and
form a new tumour. When a cell has the environment it needs, it
will start to grow.
The researchers showed in mice that cancer cells that are able
to spread easily produce a protein called THSB2 which helps them to
make their new environment more welcoming - allowing tumours to
grow. THSB2 does this by activating cells called fibroblasts, which
normally help to build tissue in the body but can also support
cancer growth.
Lead investigator Dr Ilaria Malanchi of the Crick (currently
based at Lincoln's
Inn Fields), said: "If we can find a way to block the ability
of a cancer cell to adapt to a new environment then this could slow
down the growth of cancer to other parts of the
body.
"The more THSB2 protein the cell produces, the faster the new
tissue environment will change to give the best conditions for
cancer growth.
"This is an exciting first step and what we need now is to find
drugs that could stop cancer cells producing this protein and see
if this reduces their ability to spread to new part of the
body."
The paper, Mesenchymal cancer cell-stromal crosstalk promotes
niche activation, epithelial reversion and metastatic
colonization, is published in Cell Reports.