Scientists probing how cancer cells penetrate organs believe their research points to a means of one day stopping the invaders in their tracks.
A team of researchers at the Harvard Medical School put cancer cells under the microscope to find out how they breach the outermost lining of the peritoneal cavity, where the ovaries, liver, stomach and other organs are located.
By placing ovarian cancer cells and cells from the top layer of the peritoneum together in a petri dish, they were able to study exactly how cancerous cells attach to the lining, spread and ultimately get through to organs on the other side.
Using time-lapse microscopy they discovered that the breach does not occur as an effect of a complicated biochemical process, but rather as the result of simple cellular brute force.
According to the first author of the report published in the July edition of the journal Cancer Discovery, Marcin Iwanicki, "the cancer cells act like bullies."
In a press release announcing the findings, the postdoctoral researcher said three proteins known to play a role in cellular movement were identified as critical to the cancer cells breaking through.
