Certain types of tumours could provide a vital clue as to how to prevent the spread of breast cancers to other parts of the body, according to new research.
Some breast tumours send signals via the immunse system that can freeze the growth of secondary cancers, according to the study - which was co-led by Australia’s Garvan Institute of Medical Research.
The spread of cancer beyond the original tumour – known as metastasis – is the most deadly aspect of most cancers.
Once a breast cancer has spread to other parts of the body, treatments are far less effective and a patient’s prognosis worsens sharply.
In Australia, eight women die from breast cancer every day.
Researchers studied tumours in both mice and human patients, uncovering a previously unseen ‘ecosystem’ in advanced breast cancer.
Research found primary tumours could emit signals that halted the growth of secondary tumours, preventing them spreading to other parts of the body.
Garvan Institute researcher Christine Chaffer said the discovery could provide a clue as to how to fight the spread of the life threatening disease.
“Our goal is to work out how we can mimic this freezing of secondary cancers, so that one day we might influence all breast cancers to keep their secondary tumours in check,” she said.
Researchers found tumours in mice could influence ‘breakaway cells’ that had left the primary tumour to establish new tumours throughout the body by sending messages through the immune system.
It found tumours could provoke an inflammatory response, spreading immune cells through the body to locate sites where breakaway cells had settled in preparation for the launch of new tumours.
Once the immune cells located the breakaway cells, they were able to ‘freeze’ them - halting tumour growth.
Dr Chaffer said breakaway cancer cells were particularly vulnerable before they had fully established themselves.
Research also focused on a group of 215 breast cancer patients at high risk for developing metastasis, revealing patients with high levels of the same type of immune response had better overall survival rates.
“By some estimates less than 0.02 per cent of breakaway cells will form secondary tumours, so we have a real opportunity to bring this number down to zero,” Dr Chaffer said.
Researchers hope to use the new information to find ways to suppress the spread of all breast tumours and to determine if similar processes could be used to prevent the spread of other cancers.
The spread of cancer beyond the original tumour – known as metastasis – is the most deadly aspect of most cancers.
If breast cancer spreads to other parts of the body, treatments are far less effective and a patient’s chance of survival reduces significantly.
Research has been conducted in conjunction with the Boston-based Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard University, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
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