TUESDAY, Oct. 26, 2004 (HealthDayNews) -- A new kind of treatment against metastatic cancer cells, which carry cancer from one location to other parts of the body, has been identified by scientists at the Scripps Research Institute.
This treatment uses a class of drugs called Src kinase inhibitors to prevent metastatic cancer cells from leaving the bloodstream and invading other organs.
"We know that the normal blood vessel wall is one final barrier that metastatic tumor cells must overcome, which allows them to find their way out of the bloodstream and into a metastatic site," lead researcher and immunology professor David A. Cheresh said in a prepared statement.
To exit the bloodstream, metastatic cells stimulate blood vessels to get the vessels to open up their cell-cell junction sites. When this happens, the metastatic cells slip through and implant themselves in the new location, the researchers found.
Src kinase inhibitors help increase the protective strength of the blood vessels, preventing the metastatic cells from leaving the bloodstream.
The Scripps researchers tested this approach in mice and found it was effective. This treatment has not yet been tested in humans.
The study appears in the latest issue of The Journal of Cell Biology.
More information
The U.S. National Cancer Institute has more about metastatic cancer.
