A double-edged sword, which makes cancer cells invisible to the immune system but which could be turned against the tumor itself, has been discovered in a form of breast cancer: the key lies in the ability of these cells to become 'fluid' , and therefore more invasive, but which at the same time could make them more susceptible to therapies.
The discovery is made by an international group of researchers led by the Molecular Oncology Foundation Institute (Ifom) and the University of Milan, with the support of the Airc Foundation and the contribution of the Universities of Palermo and Perugia, the European Institute of Oncology of Milan, Policlinico San Matteo di Pavia, the Cannizzaro Hospital in Catania and the Gemelli Polyclinic in Rome.
The study was
published
in the journal Nature Materials.
Intraductal breast carcinoma is responsible for approximately 20% of breast cancer diagnoses.
"About 70% of these tumors would not require any type of intervention, as they often regress spontaneously", explains Giorgio Scita of the University of Milan, co-author of the study led by Emanuela Frittoli and Andrea Palamidessi of Ifom.
“Only about 30% progress, resulting in metastases.
The problem - continues Scita - is that to date there are no tools to predict whether a patient will return in 30% or 70% of cases ".
As a result, all patients diagnosed with this type of cancer undergo the same therapy, suffering side effects that for most of them would be avoidable.
Now, researchers have discovered that the ability of cancer cells to transition from solid to the more dangerous liquid state is signaled by the presence of the protein RAB5A.
By looking for this molecule in the tumor tissues of patients, it will therefore be possible to understand who needs specific treatments and who can avoid them.