Researchers have discovered a natural immune mechanism in mice that stops escaped cancer cells from developing into tumors elsewhere in the body.
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.
Breast cancer and many other types of cancer metastasize to the lungs. In research involving three mouse models of metastatic breast cancer, Dr. Aguirre-Ghiso and colleagues determined that when breast cancer DCCs spread to the lung's air sacs , they are kept in a dormant state by immune cells known as alveolar macrophages."Alveolar macrophages are the lung's first responders, defending the organ against bacteria and dangerous substances like environmental pollutants," said Dr.
As DCCs become more aggressive, the researchers found, they become resistant to the pro-dormancy signals produced by alveolar macrophages. Ultimately, this evasion mechanism enables some DCCs to"wake up" from dormancy and reactivate to form metastases.
Lung Cancer Breast Cancer Brain Tumor Skin Cancer Lymphoma Prostate Cancer Colon Cancer
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