As a result of various studies, American scientists now believe that it is one's own stem cells that set off the spread of cancer cells in the body.
From the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the scientists, led by Dr Robert Weinberg have revealed this in their findings in the journal, Nature.
In their tests the Whitehead Institute team discovered that breast cancers in mice are more apt to spread when combined with bone marrow stem cells. However, they are of the opinion that this metastasis is reversible, thus mitigating the fatal effects of the disease.
For some time, now, doctors had been trying to understand the behavior changes of cancer in an effort to find a preventative treatment that will control the cancer and isolate it to one area of the body.
Now this most recent research suggests that a specific type of stem cell has something to do with metatasis in breast cancer cells, and this discovery may work toward this.
Stem cells are undeveloped cells that do not have any role as yet and can develop into different kinds of tissue. can generate connective tissue, bone, fat, cartilage and muscle.
The Mesenchymal stem cells found in the bone marrow are master cells that the body uses for generating connective tissue, bone, cartilage, muscle and fat.
These cells had already been under suspicion for the spread of cancer when it was noticed that they naturally moved in large numbers to sites of tumors.
In their experiments the scientists found that combining human breast cancer growths with Mesenchymal stem cells in mice caused many more cancers in the lungs rather than if the breast cancer tumors had been left alone.
The researchers believe that the stem cells cause genetic changes in the cancer cells as a result of which they metastasize. However once they have metastasized they revert to their original state.
As a result of this they are difficult to identify but the good news is the unwanted alterations in cancer cells could be reversed.
The scientists found in their studies that a signaling molecule, CCL5, which is manufactured by the stem cells infected the breast cancer cells. It helped the tumor cells in their passage through blood vessels and the invasion of new sites.
Treatment for this is already being used on patients with HIV and the scientists reason it could also be tried on patients with metastasizing cancers.
From Cancer Research UK, Dr Kat Arney said: "It's becoming increasingly clear that many cancers aren't just made up of cancer cells, but they are rogue tissues that also contain many other types of cells…
"Although these results don't tell us if exactly the same situation is present in cancers within humans - as they have been done using mice - it's a good indicator that these stem cells may play a role in breast cancer, and could point towards targets for future treatments."
In the meantime, working in the same lab, another researcher, Dr Li Ma has managed to get cancer cells to break away from a tumor and inhabit other tissues in mice by simply increasing the level of RNA molecules. Thus, for the first time, the ability of cancer to spread through the body has been associated with genetic material. This, it is hoped, will aid in quicker diagnosis and in improved therapies.
