As we all know, cancer is a very harmful and life-threatening disease. For this, Researchers are trying to stop the spread of cancer in the body. Why cancer cells travel from one spot to another is a mystery. Treating metastatic disease is a complex. It’s a personal mission for one researcher to help those suffering.
Dr. Sui Huang, Northwestern Medicine researcher, her mother died from this dangerous disease when Huang was only 12. This led to her lifelong scientific pursuit, and a discovery that Huang hopes may eventually prevent other children from suffering such a painful loss.
Under the microscope, she can saw the changes that a Metastatic Cancer cell stopped in its path. The structure and shape of the cell and it can no longer make protein – an essential building block.
“For the cancer cell to keep growing and spreading they need a lot of protein made, so if you block the ability they won’t survive,” Dr. Huang said.
Huang and her colleagues have used a new approach and discovered a new compound that halts the spread of cancer cells, which makes the disease so lethal.
To make this discovery possible, Scientists from the National Cancer Institute (NCI), the University of Kansas, the National Center for Advancing Translational Science (NCAT) and Dr. Chen Wang, a research associate in Huang's lab, worked closely as a team.Dr. Huang and her colleagues developed a new compound, Metarrestin, seems to inhibit cancer cells from spreading. Still, how it works is a bit of mystery.
“We don’t know the mechanism whether we are blocking the spread of those cells or are we were blocking the cells that already spread and not able to grow,” Dr. Huang said. The compound has been tested in animal models where it inhibited metastasis. Mice treated with the compound had fewer metastatic tumors in the lung and liver and lived longer than mice that did not receive treatment.
Dr. Sui Huang, Northwestern Medicine researcher, her mother died from this dangerous disease when Huang was only 12. This led to her lifelong scientific pursuit, and a discovery that Huang hopes may eventually prevent other children from suffering such a painful loss.
Under the microscope, she can saw the changes that a Metastatic Cancer cell stopped in its path. The structure and shape of the cell and it can no longer make protein – an essential building block.
“For the cancer cell to keep growing and spreading they need a lot of protein made, so if you block the ability they won’t survive,” Dr. Huang said.
Huang and her colleagues have used a new approach and discovered a new compound that halts the spread of cancer cells, which makes the disease so lethal.
To make this discovery possible, Scientists from the National Cancer Institute (NCI), the University of Kansas, the National Center for Advancing Translational Science (NCAT) and Dr. Chen Wang, a research associate in Huang's lab, worked closely as a team.Dr. Huang and her colleagues developed a new compound, Metarrestin, seems to inhibit cancer cells from spreading. Still, how it works is a bit of mystery.
“We don’t know the mechanism whether we are blocking the spread of those cells or are we were blocking the cells that already spread and not able to grow,” Dr. Huang said. The compound has been tested in animal models where it inhibited metastasis. Mice treated with the compound had fewer metastatic tumors in the lung and liver and lived longer than mice that did not receive treatment.
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| Metarrestin treatment markedly reduced the number of metastatic tumors in the liver and lung of mice with pancreatic cancer. |
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| Metarrestin treatment disassembled PNCs (structures associated with cancer metastasis, green) in mice with pancreas tumors and liver metastasis. |
The paper will be published May 16 in Science Translational Medicine.
The next step is to submit the compound to the FDA as a potential investigational drug so that human testing can get underway. Ultimately, the compound could be used in combination with standard care and post-surgery.
The next step is to submit the compound to the FDA as a potential investigational drug so that human testing can get underway. Ultimately, the compound could be used in combination with standard care and post-surgery.
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