Metastatic disease-;when cancer spreads from the primary tumor to other parts of the body-;is the cause of most cancer deaths. While researchers understand how cancer cells escape the primary site to seed new tumors, it's not well understood why some of these wayward cancer cells spawn new tumors-; sometimes decades later-;while others do not. Now, a research team at the National Cancer Institute-designated Montefiore Einstein Comprehensive Cancer Center (MECCC) has discovered a natural immune mechanism in mice that stops escaped cancer cells from developing into tumors elsewhere in the body.
The findings were published today in the journal Cell . Preventing or curing metastases is the most critical challenge in cancer. We think our findings have the potential to point to new therapies to prevent or treat metastatic disease.
" Julio Aguirre-Ghiso, Ph.D., study leader, director of MECCC's Cancer Dormancy Institute The study's co-first authors are Erica Dalla, Ph.
D., a former student, and Michael Papanicolaou, Ph.D.
, a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Aguirre-Ghiso's lab. The role of dormancy in cancer Cells that migrate from primary tumors and seed metastatic tumors are called disseminated cancer cells (DCCs).
Some DCCs behave aggressively, immediately starting tumors in new tissue, while others remain in a state of suspended animation referred to as dormancy. "It's long been a mystery how some DCCs can remain in tissues for decades and never cause metastases, and we believe we've fo.
