Researchers from the Institute of Cancer Research’s (ICR) Breast Cancer Now Toby Robins Research Centre have found that some cancer cells ‘outsmart’ healthy cells to expand and spread around the body.
The study, funded by Breast Cancer Now and published in Developmental Cell, provides further understanding of how the cell competition mechanism is exploited by cancer cells and could lead to new ways of treating cancer.
According to Cancer Research UK, more than 18 million new cases of cancer occurred worldwide in 2020, with the four most prevalent being female breast, lung, bowel and prostate cancers, which account for more than four in ten of all cancers diagnosed globally.
The body’s natural cell competition process helps to ensure that substandard cells do not accumulate in the body but are eliminated and removed. However, defects in cell competition can result in the retention of damaged or dangerous cells, which can lead to the formation of tumours.
Researchers discovered that cells with a lower secretion of extracellular glutamate, a building block and messenger molecules in the body that regulate competition between cells, are considered failures when surrounded by healthy cells.
When this occurs, the failed cell donates nutrients to contribute to the growth of healthy cells and is eliminated and removed in the process.
The team found that the process could be exploited by cancer cells that pretend to be ‘super-fit’ by increasing their glutamate production, allowing them to expand and spread at the expense of healthy normal cells.
Furthermore, this can sometimes lead to some cancer cells becoming resistant to chemotherapy or other targeted therapies because of their ability to survive and multiply.
The ICR’s chief executive, professor Kristian Helin, commented: “Discovery science like this reveals the nature of cancer cells, which is vital to the identification of new therapeutic targets that could form the basis of future cancer treatments.”
Lead study author Pascal Meier, professor of cell death and immunity, ICR, said: “By better understanding cell competition and how cancer hijacks it, we hope to ultimately design new therapeutic approaches to treat cancer and stop it becoming resistant to treatment so people can live well for longer, even with advanced disease.”