Pathway/Method that allows Cancers to Spread Identified
Researchers have been able to identify the mechanism that allows cancer cells to infect normal cells, tuning them into cancerous ones themselves. This method the cancer cell uses is similar to the way colo-rectal cancer works to spread into the bone marrow and brain which is the main reason for relapse in many cases. The method has long been sought and with the findings comes a better understanding how cancer cells infiltrate cells from other organs without a need for adaptation to take into account the differences in the cells forms and makeup. In other biological systems, cells such as parasitic ones, normally live off one specific host and not another having developed specific functions that allows it to survive one host and not on the other. Cancer cells are known to differ form one organ to the other yet the mechanism that allows them to take over completely normal cells is still under study. A better understanding of which would allow the development of blockers that can interfere with the ability of cells to adapt to their new host cells thus limiting their spread and even controlling and eliminating the disease in the future.