New Research Unlocks Key to Predicting Aggressive Tumours and Tackling Cancer Spread

New Research Unlocks Key to Predicting Aggressive Tumours and Tackling Cancer Spread

(IN BRIEF) Researchers from The Institute of Cancer Research, London, and Barts Cancer Institute have discovered how the extracellular matrix (ECM) surrounding tumours influences cancer cells to become aggressive and spread throughout the body. Their study, published in Nature Communications, reveals that the ECM acts as a “roadmap” guiding cancer cells to escape and metastasise. The findings highlight the role of the tumour’s outer regions in the spread of cancer, suggesting new treatment avenues that target the ECM and prevent metastasis. This research could lead to new drugs to prevent cancer from spreading and improve survival rates for various cancer types, including melanoma, breast, and lung cancer.

(PRESS RELEASE) LONDON, 14-Feb-2025 — /EuropaWire/ — Researchers have uncovered a breakthrough in understanding how cancer cells escape their original tumor and spread to other parts of the body. Published in Nature Communications, this new discovery reveals that cancer cells are influenced by the layout of the surrounding tissue structure, known as the extracellular matrix (ECM), which directs the cells’ movement and shapes their behavior. This research provides crucial insights into identifying aggressive tumors at an early stage, offering hope for treatments to target cancer before it spreads.

The ECM, akin to scaffolding, holds tumors together and varies in structure throughout different areas of the tumor. Researchers from The Institute of Cancer Research, London, and Barts Cancer Institute at Queen Mary University of London found that cancer cells use the ECM as a ‘roadmap,’ which helps them break free and metastasize. The team studied tumor tissue from patients with melanoma and breast cancer, discovering that cells near the tumor’s outer edge had a different structure—more organized and denser—making it easier for cancer cells to migrate. At these borders, the cells’ shape also changes, becoming more invasive and aiding their escape.

This finding, a result of almost a decade of research, has the potential to revolutionize cancer detection and treatment. By focusing on the ECM’s role in cancer cell movement, scientists now have a new target for therapies that could prevent metastasis. In particular, drugs targeting enzymes that modify the ECM’s structure, such as lysyl oxidase (LOX), are already in clinical trials and could play a crucial role in stopping cancer before it spreads.

The study’s authors hope this will lead to treatments that not only target the cancerous cells themselves but also their supportive environment, providing a more comprehensive approach to cancer therapy. The implications of this research are far-reaching, especially for cancers like melanoma, breast cancer, and pancreatic cancer, where early metastasis is often the key to a poor prognosis.

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SOURCE: Institute of Cancer Research