A study led by the Spanish Research Institute of the Hospital del Mar identified the “seeds” of breast cancer metastasis, proteins that favor the survival of the first malignant cells that colonize new organs.
The discovery of the function of these proteins, the TIM-3, opens the door to design treatments to block their action and prevent metastasis before their clinical appearance, that is, before there are symptoms or can be detected, the Hospital del Mar reported.
The research was published in Cancer Cell and was attended by scientists from the Hospital del Mar and the Spanish Breast Cancer Research Group (Geicam).
Scientists already know the Tim-3 molecule due to their functions in the modulation of the immune system and there are drugs oriented to their inhibition.
However, it is the first time that the Tim-3 function is identified in the most aggressive metastasis initiators, the ‘seeds’ that colonize new organs, the El Mar hospital said in a statement.
The moment of arrival at the new organ is fundamental but little known, because there are no clinical or technical manifestations that allow you to investigate it.
Despite this, the researchers were able to study it through a mouse model and managed to describe the key role of Tim-3 in the survival of the first tumor cells that root in the affected organs.
The researchers observed that, when the first tumor cells reach the new organ, Tim3 allows them to suppress the immune system of the body, which should destroy them.
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The critical moment of the colonization of the Tim-3 protein
Thus, colonizing cells ensure their survival at a critical moment, since there are still few newcomers to the new organ.
“It is a phase of vulnerability of the disease, since few cells remain and, if we understand what happens and we are able to eradicate them, we will have a great opportunity to avoid clinical metastasis, which is the dangerous phase of the disease,” explained the investigator of the sea and Geicam Toni Celià-terrassa, who signs the study.
The study opens the door to design new therapies or use existing drugs that block the action of this protein, to avoid the appearance of new tumors.
In parallel to research with mice, scientists checked in a cohort of patients from the Hospital del Mar than those patients with tumors with high levels of TIM-3 were more risk of metastases and poor prognosis.
Thus, “having tools for these high-risk patients, such as those who are Tim3 positive, can allow them to apply an anti-Tim-3 therapy after surgery to avoid the subsequent relapse and prevent metastasis,” said Celià-Terrassa.
The researchers consider that the treatment should be applied before the appearance of metastasis, because when the disease has already occurred it is more difficult to control and Tim-3 ceases to have the same relevance.
But first we should develop relevant clinical trials that validate the possibility of using existing treatments to inhibit this protein in Tim-3 carrier cells, before and after surgery.
With EFE information
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