Drugs that prevent tumor metastasis but do not kill cancer cells have been identified

most deadly aspect of breast cancer is cancer cell metastasis, where cancer cells spread throughout the body. Now, in a new study, researchers from the University of Basel and the University Hospital of Basel in Switzerland have discovered a compound that inhibits the metastasis of cancer cells. The findings were published In the January 10, 2019 issue of cell, the paper is titled "The Biology Tumor Cell Clustering Shapes DNA Methylation to Enable Metastasis Seeding." The paper is co-authored by Professor Nicola Aceto of the Department of Biomedical Research at the University of Basel.
cancer cell metastasis causes more than 90 percent of cancer-related deaths, and patients with metastasis cancer are considered incurable. Aceto and his team identified a drug that inhibits the spread of malignant cancer cells and their metastasis-seeding capabilities.pioneer of cancer cell metastasis: Circulating tumor cell clusters
In the process of far-end metastasis, circulating tumor cells (CTC) are cancer cells that leave primary tumors and enter the blood stream. These so-called CTC can be found in the patient's blood as a single cell or cluster of cells. CTC cell clusters are pioneers in cancer cell metastasis. The Aceto team has found that CTC cell cluster formation leads to key metastasis-seeding of key metastasis genetic changes. These changes allow CTC cell clusters to simulate some of the properties of embryonic stem cells, including their ability to multiply while maintaining tissue formation. They also found that these prescular genetic changes were completely reversible after the CTC cell clusters were dissodied.
looking for substances to inhibit the metastasis of cancer cells, Aceto and his team tested 2,486 compounds approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat many different allergies. They unexpectedly found inhibitors that could dissoculate CTC cell clusters from the patient's source. The use of drugs to group CTC cells into individual cells can lead to metastasis and prevent the metastasis of new cancer cells.To stop cancer cells from metastasis or kill cancer cells
Aceto said, "We think that unlike the standard method, we're trying to identify drugs that don't kill cancer cells but that let CTC cells cluster away." "
cancer cell metastasis remains the greatest risk in the fight against breast cancer. These new findings about the mechanism of cancer cell metastasis are the result of a great deal of collaboration between disciplines. "Our ambitious approach is unlikely to succeed without working with good clinicians, molecular biologists, and computational biologists, supported by state-of-the-art technology platforms," Aceto said. Our approach depends directly on the intersection of these different disciplines. We have taken the next step in our research, which is clinical trials in breast cancer patients. " (Bio Valley)