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A way to stop cancer from metastasizing may have been found

Published 29 Jun 2017 • Updated 23 May 2019 • By Louise Bollecker

A way to stop cancer from metastasizing may have been found

Metastasis is the main cause of death in cancer, and current treatments against it are ineffective. But new research may have found a way to slow down, and perhaps even halt, the spread of cancer cells.

Metastasis is the process by which cancer spreads throughout the body. During this process, cancer cells may either invade nearby healthy tissue, penetrate the walls of lymph nodes, or enter the surrounding blood vessels.

But new research may have found a way to control metastasis by inhibiting the migration of cancer cells. Stopping the cells from migrating is key in stopping metastasis.

What enables cancer cells to migrate is a set of protrusions that help them to move. The team of researchers - led by Mostafa El-Sayed, Julius Brown Chair and Regents Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Georgia Tech's School in Atlanta, GA - managed to successfully cut off these protrusions using a special technique.

The findings were published in the journal PNAS.

Breaking cancer cells' 'legs'

The long, thin protrusions that help cancer cells to move are called filopodia. They are an extension of a set of "broad, sheet-like" fibers called lamellipodia, which can be found around the edges of the cell.

The suffix "-podia" (or "-podium," singular) comes from the Greek language and means "something footlike."

Essentially, lamellipodia and filopodia are tiny "legs" that help healthy cells to move within the tissue. But in cancerous cells, lamellipodia and filopodia are produced in excess.

The researchers used so-called nanorods, made of gold nanoparticles, to obstruct these tiny legs.

With the help of nanotechnology, scientists are able to reduce the size of certain materials to a nanoscale - with "nano" meaning the billionth part of a meter - at which point these materials start to show new chemical and physical properties.

Prof. El-Sayed and colleagues introduced the nanorods locally. The nanorods were covered with a coating of molecules, called RGD peptides, that made them attach to a specific kind of protein called integrin.

"The targeted nanorods tied up the integrin and blocked its functions, so it could not keep guiding the cytoskeleton to overproduce lamellipodia and filopodia," explains co-author Yan Tang, a postdoctoral assistant in computational biology.

A cytoskeleton is the support structure of a cell, responsible for giving it a shape. It also has additional functions, with one of them being to form the filopodia protrusions.

Method could kill cancer cells

The experiments revealed that simply binding the nanorods to the integrin delayed the migration of the cancer cells.

Importantly, this method avoided healthy cells, which could make this therapy drastically less damaging for patients who undergo toxic chemotherapy treatment.

"There are certain, specific integrins that are overproduced in cancerous cells," explains Moustafa Ali, one of the study's first authors. "And you don't find them so much in healthy cells."

In the second stage of the experiment, Prof. El-Sayed and team heated the gold nanoparticles with a laser of near-infrared light. This effectively stopped the migration of the malignant cells.

In this experiment, not all cancer cells were killed, as this would have prevented the researchers from examining whether or not they successfully stopped them from migrating. However, the researchers say that the method could be adjusted to kill the malignant cells.

Prof. El-Sayed and his colleagues have previously conducted similar experiments in mice, in which they applied the same method. The former research found no toxicity from the gold for up to 15 months after the treatment.

The researchers hope to soon be able to treat "head, neck, breast, and skin cancers with direct, local nanorod injections combined with the low-power near-infrared laser."

The laser could reach the gold nanorods at 4 to 5 centimeters deep inside the tissue, and deeper tumors could be treated with deeper nanorods injections, the authors say.





MedicalNewsToday.com

avatar Louise Bollecker

Author: Louise Bollecker, Community Manager France

Community Manager of Carenity in France, Louise is also editor-in-chief of the Health Magazine to provide articles, videos and testimonials that focus on patients' experiences and making their voices heard. With a... >> Learn more

4 comments


avatar
Unregistered member
on 04/07/2017

Hi, I have just joined this site so excuse me if I have put this entry in the wrong place....I was diagnosed with secondary breast cancer April 2016, which had spread to the orbital area behind my eye.  I was wondering if there is anyone who has a similar type of cancer or anyone who has knowledge and advice for me?   Thank you in advance.

regards,

Bernadette


Margarita_k • Community manager
on 05/07/2017

Hi @Bernadete,

There is a discussion group specially dedicated to breast cancer: Living with breast cancer.

You can take part in the existing discussions or start your own if the topic has not yet been touched. I am sure you will get plenty of feedback and advice.

If you need help with the site, don't hesitate to contact me.

Margarita


avatar
Unregistered member
on 05/07/2017

Wrote details but not allowing me to publish!?


Margarita_k • Community manager
on 06/07/2017

Hi @Bernadete,

I'm sorry, I didn't quite get your message. Could you please specify ?

Thank you!

Kind regards,

Margarita

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