A research team from the Cancer Research Institute in the British capital, London, in a new study, found a discovery that may contribute to reducing the spread of cancerous tumors before their exacerbation, by studying the shape of cancer cells and their physical properties.
The study revealed that the aggressive tumors of breast cancer have external protrusions similar to thorns on the fruit of chestnut, unlike the least aggressive tumors that are characterized by soft surfaces.
The researchers believe that these structures contribute to facilitating the transmission of cancer cells to other organs such as the lungs, liver and brain, which increases the speed of the disease.
The scientific team analyzed samples taken from the tumors of 30 patients with breast cancer, and 65 people with skin cancer, and they found that these thorns consist of fibers in the matrix outside the cell (Subs), which are brown known for their effect on the properties of cancer cells.
The results showed that the cancer cells associated with these thorns become more solid and round, which enhances their ability to move and spread.
Professor Victoria Sanz Moreno, the main researcher at the Institute of Cancer Research, confirmed that seeing these barbed tumors in patient biopsy may allow targeting cancer cells with already existing drugs, which may help prevent the spread of the disease and improve survival opportunities.
Experiments also concluded that the cancer cells that were planted in the laboratory using structures that mimic these thorns were more prevalent, and that patients whose cancer cells possessed these aggressive properties were less likely to survive for long periods.
Scientists have found that these thorns stimulate the activity of a group of genes responsible for changing the shape of cells (SUBS), which makes them more able to adapt and navigate within the body, thus increasing the risk of cancer spread.
This study is an important step towards developing new drugs that aim to prevent the formation of these thorns, which may limit the ability of cancer cells to spread, and can also help doctors discover aggressive tumors early by analyzing their external structure.