A protein that plays a major role in tumour spread could pave the way to new cancer treatments, research suggests.
In laboratory tests, scientists showed that blocking the protein, periostin, prevented the formation of secondary cancers.
Rather than focusing on cancer cells themselves, the researchers in Switzerland looked at the environment around tumours.
They found several conditions necessary for ‘metastatic’ – or spreading – cancer to propagate.
‘In particular, we were able to isolate a protein, periostin, in the niches where metastases develop,’ said study leader Dr Joerg Huelsken, from the Swiss Centre for Experimental Cancer Research in Lausanne.
‘Without this protein, the cancer stem cell cannot initiate metastasis; instead, it disappears or remains dormant.’
The research is published today in an early online edition of the journal Nature.
Periostin exists naturally in the ‘extracellular matrix’, the connective tissue filling the gaps between cells. It has been shown to play a role in foetal development.
In adults, it is only active in specific parts of the body such as the mammary glands, bones, skin and intestine.
The scientists showed that mice bred to lack periostin avoided metastatic cancer.
They went on to develop an antibody that attaches to the protein, rendering it dysfunctional.
‘We are hoping in this way to be able to block the process of metastasis formation,’ said Dr Huelsken.
Very few side effects were seen in the treated mice, but Dr Huelsken cautioned: ‘This doesn’t necessarily mean the same will hold true in humans.
‘We’re not even sure that we’ll be able to find an equivalent antibody that will work in humans.’
Most cancer deaths are caused by metastatic spread to vital organs such as the liver or brain.