Tag Archives: metastasis
Researchers discover that particular genetic fragments, of a type of RNA known as transfer RNA, or tRNA, appear to be capable of reducing the growth and spread of breast cancer cells. More »
By identifying genes that become activated in cancer cells that successfully metastasize to the liver, researchers at Rockefeller have implicated metabolic processes within the liver as a possible means by which starving transient cancer cells can go on to form deadly new colonies. More »
Tavazoie, who joined Rockefeller in 2009, works to understand how cancer cells become able to escape a tumor and invade other organs, a process known as metastasis. He searches for genes and molecular pathways cancer cells exploit in order to metastasize and, with that knowledge, hopes to develop future treatments to prevent or interfere with the process.
Mice injected with metastatic breast cancer cells showed less metastasis when researchers silenced the protein TARBP2 in these cells. TARBP2 appears to promote metastasis in part by blocking suppressor genes, including two linked with neurodegeneration. More »
Researchers have found a promising new route to slowing or even preventing melanoma cells from spreading within the body. Using a compound that targets a hormone receptor, the team found they could reduce tumors’ recruitment of blood vessels, a process necessary for metastasis. More »
Cancer cells are most deadly when they’re on the move – able not only to destroy whatever organ they are first formed in, but also to create colonies elsewhere in the body. New research has now shown how a small RNA prevents the recruitment and formation of blood vessels near cancer cells destined to become metastases, a process that must occur in order for them to grow. The scientists say that if drugs could be developed that act on the pathways regulated by this microRNA, they might be able to block the metastatic process and prevent some breast cancers from becoming deadly. More »