Tissue discovery could pave way for new cancer treatment

Thursday 9 August 2012

SCIENTISTS have claimed a major breakthrough which they say could lead to more effective treatments for throat and cervical cancers.

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Queen's University in Belfast said the discovery could see the development of new therapies to target non-cancerous cells surrounding a tumour, as well as the tumour itself.

Experts at the Centre for Cancer Research and Cell Biology said they found the non-cancerous tissue, or "stroma", surrounding cancers of the throat and cervix plays an important role in regulating the spread of cancer.

Queen's believes this opens the door for the development of new treatments targeting the non-cancerous tissue to help prevent it being invaded by neighbouring cancer cells.Professor Dennis McCance, who led the research, said: "Cancer spreads as the result of two-way communication between the cancer cells in a tumour and the non-cancerous cells in the surrounding tissue."If these messages – sent from the healthy tissue to the tumour – can be switched-off, then the spread of the cancer will be inhibited. What we have discovered is that a particular protein in non-cancerous tissue has the ability to either open or close the communication pathway between the healthy tissue and the tumour."When the Retinoblastoma protein (Rb) in non-cancerous tissue is activated, this leads to a decrease in factors that encourage invasion by cancer cells. And so, the cancer doesn't spread."The research was published in the European Molecular Biology Organisation Journal.Queen's said the Rb protein is found in both cancer and non-cancerous tissue, and that its importance in regulating the growth of cancer cells is already well-documented. But it said this is the first time scientists have identified the role of the Rb in healthy tissue, and its impact on the spread of cancer. The study was funded by the Wellcome Trust, the Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre and the National Institutes of Health (US).

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Tissue discovery could pave way for new cancer treatment

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