Why does breast cancer spread to the spine? Scientists finally have an answer
Click here! Greenblatt said for decades, doctors knew that some cancer cells preferentially seek out the spine, but no one has had a good explanation for why. The researchers had a hunch that stem cells inside vertebral bones differed from those in other sites in the skeleton, like the long bones in the arms and legs.
In a key experiment, the researchers transplanted spinal stem cells into one hind leg of mice and long bone stem cells into the other. Each transplant formed miniature bones in the animals’ bodies — a tiny vertebra on the right, and a bit of long bone on the left.
Then, they injected breast cancer cells into the mice. The researchers noted that cells travelled to the mini vertebra nearly twice as often as they did to the little long bone, as if lured by a cancer-calling Pied Piper, the report said.
The report further said the newly identified spinal stem cells, found in both mice and humans, secrete a protein called MFGE8 that acts as a tumor attractant, drawing cancer cells to spinal tissue. The protein may not be the only factor involved, Greenblatt said, “but it’s an important one in driving tumor cells to the spine." It’s possible that blocking MFGE8 could prevent or treat spine metastasis.
“I think it’s definitely worth further investigation," Zhang said. But, he noted, it’s still too early to know what the therapeutic implications may be."Exciting news! Mint is now on WhatsApp Channels
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