Method found to prevent bone metastasis

An existing drug could prevent breast cancer from metastasizing to the bones and improve survival rates in patients with these tumors, according to a study published in the journal Cancer Discovery. Japanese. Az refer to Russian Newspaper.

More than 75% of patients with metastatic breast cancer develop bone metastases, which can lead to fractures and severe pain.

Like healthy tissue, a tumor is an ecosystem in which there are complex interactions between different types of cells of the immune system, connective tissue and blood vessels. In this case, cancer cells can force healthy tissue to support the growth of the tumor, including its infiltration into other organs. The scientists suggest that this could be avoided by blocking the interaction between cancer cells and healthy cells. To understand the metastatic process, they compared three types of bones in model mice: healthy, early metastatic and mature.

Scientists have discovered that when metastasis begins, the immune system’s T cells invade the metastases but are unable to destroy them. It turns out that this property is blocked by another type of immune cell. The scientists have identified the protein molecule that plays a central role in this process. They have also found a combination of existing drugs that can block the “breakdown” of immune cells. It was tested on mice with cancer: the treatment significantly increased survival and there was a clear reduction in bone metastases.

A study of tissue from patients in the United States and Israel shows that their immune cells produce the same protein as mice. This could mean that the drug combination chosen by scientists will be effective in people.

“A major advantage of our strategy is that both drugs are already on the market, so the process of obtaining approval for use against bone metastases in humans may be relatively straightforward. At the same time, clinical trials are needed to test the effectiveness of new treatment strategies,” the study authors noted.

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