The spread of cancer cells, even to organs located distantly from its origin, is known to cause 90 percent of deaths due to this disease. Tumour is indeed capable of “dispersing” its cells to other parts of the body. The fight against the spread of cancer (metastasis) is a fight against cancer cells that mutate rapidly to all parts of the body. Cancer that has spread is more difficult to treat. The Sanger Institute Cambridge research team sought to find the cause of tumour spread. Their experiments on mice showed that altering the immune system would slow the spread of skin cancers to lungs. They injected the mice with skin cancer (melanoma) and counted the number of tumour cells formed in the lungs. The study identified 23 parts of DNA or gene that either made it easier or harder for the cancer to spread; and mostly they were associated with the immune system. When therapy was targeted on one gene called SPNS2, it was found out that removal of the SPNS2 gene reduced the tumour spread to two-thirds. All this time, one of cancer treatments called immunotherapy, which strengthens the immune cells to fight against cancer, has produced significant results to some patients. However, many are not successful as well. With the results of this latest study, all the more specific genes have been identified, a more effective cancer treatment method is expected to be developed.

Text by Denistya Sagita

Stock photos from BigStockPhoto

Source(s):

• http://www.bbc.com/news/health-38582007
• https://www.cancer.gov/types/metastatic-cancer#how- cancer-spreads