Pathologist David Tarin from the University of California, San Diego, has questioned the idea that cancer cells break free and migrate to new sites in the body by reverting to a state resembling the mobile cells in the developing embryo.
Nature reports that Tarin, standing in front of hundreds of colleagues at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) earlier this month, challenged a leading hypothesis on how cancers metastasize.
Lab evidence for the hypothesis has raised hopes of some day blocking metastasis, which in 90% of cancer deaths is what ultimately kills the patient. But Tarin, along with some other cancer biologists, argues that no one has seen the process in action in human cancers.
Most cancers occur in the sheets of epithelial cells that line organs. Epithelial cells are normally immobile, but during embryonic development some start to produce proteins associated with motility and shut down production of proteins that glue the cells together. This transforms the cells into more mobile 'mesenchymal' cells that migrate to their correct locations in the embryo. If the same epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) takes place in cancers, it could explain how tumour cells detach from their neighbours and enter the bloodstream to seed a new tumour.
Although controversial at first, the EMT hypothesis was bolstered by experiments in mice showing that activation of EMT led to metastasis. OSI Pharmaceuticals, based in Melville, New York, is already pursuing EMT inhibitors as possible cancer treatments, as are several academic labs.
Shoukat Dedhar, a cancer researcher at the British Columbia Cancer Research Centre in Vancouver and a self-avowed convert to the hypothesis said, "EMT is really becoming a popular subject. There are more and more data coming out for EMT's role in metastasis."
Tarin, among others, is, however, concerned that the hypothesis has achieved popularity on the basis of results from cultured cells and animal models, without convincing evidence of its importance in metastasis in humans. He argues that pathologists have combed through millions of tissue sections from tumours without seeing cells in transition.
Champions of the EMT-metastasis hypothesis, including leading cancer biologist Robert Weinberg at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America, say that this may simply be because EMT is so transient, as once a metastatic cell has invaded a new tissue, its mesenchymal features melt away.
Cancer researcher, Gianluigi Giannelli, of the University of Bari Medical School in Italy agress that "When we examine a piece of tissue from a patient, we have just a snapshot of a moment. We don't see the full movie."
Tarin, however, dismisses this reasoning, saying "It is comparable to one telling you there are invisible aliens sitting in this room, but because you have not used the right tools, you haven't seen them."
Others echo his concerns. Savagner points out that the proteins that might indicate EMT activation are also present during unrelated processes, such as programmed cell death. "People really want these cells to do an EMT and they push the concept too far," he says.
Even Dedhar worries about overreaching claims. For example, many papers report results from cultured cells, he says, without confirming that the cells are metastatic in live animals.
The real picture, according to Tarin, may not involve a change in cellular identity. Instead, he and others suggest that metastasis occurs when mutations in cancer cells compromise cell-cell adhesion. Others suggest that cells break off from the tumour in clumps and travel in packs.
Weinberg says a key experiment that could resolve the controversy would be to track individual cancer cells from the time they break off from a tumour to the point at which they colonize a new organ. Such an experiment would be technically challenging in humans, he says. "One can study the primary tumour and the cells it dispatches into the circulation. But finding out what happens to these circulating tumour cells after they become lodged is very difficult," Weinberg said.
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National Cancer Institute & Ferromagnetic Theory of Cancer. NCI (USA): cancer can be treated by chemotherapy, radiation therapy, surgery and other treatment methods http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/treatment/types-of-treatment Cancer is the leading cause of death in economically developed countries and the second leading cause of death in developing countries. Today, one in three people develop cancer during their lives. Over one in four people die from cancer and false cancer researches. Any onco-pathology is intracellular ferromagnetic infection (any cell is society of dia-, para-, ferri- and ferromagnetic nano-objects) http://allafrica.com/stories/201104280465.html Non-complicated anti-iron anti-cancer methods of the Ferromagnetic Theory of Cancer (Holy Writ): 1) Anti-iron slow blood loss (even 75%), hemoglobin control; 2) Anti-iron goats milk diet, non-concentrated H2S-water (drinking water); 3) Non-iron (ceramic) needles should give a solution S + olive oil [suspension S + H2O; non-concentrated H2S-water] for tumors and metastases; 4) Non-iron (ceramic) surgical instrument http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surgical_instrument for general use in surgery. CANCER is MONEY of NCI and ACS. That is why NCI http://www.cancer.gov/aboutnci/director and ACS http://www.cancer.org/Research/index can't understand Ferromagnetic Theory of Cancer (Iron Conception). Vanga http://english.pravda.ru/science/mysteries/12-08-2009/108800-vanga-0/ invented anti-cancer anti-money iron chains-2012 for cancer researchers. Tigran H. & V. Shapoval South Carolina, USA http://www.tutuz.com/ ; http://digg.com/tigranh ; https://twitter.com/#!/tutuzblog ; http://allafrica.com/stories/201104280465.html
Thermonuclear Sun-2018 & Ferromagnetic Cancer Theory-2006. The prime energy producer in the sun is the fusion of hydrogen to helium http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stellar_nucleosynthesis Quarries are generally used for extracting building materials http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quarry Granite quarry is a dwelling (a house) for the Tiny Thermonuclear Sun-2018 http://exkavator.ru/photo/pic/peso4nica_dlja_vzroslih Nuclear artillery will give life to the Sun-2018 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_artillery The Sun-2018 will eat thermonuclear fuel. Numerous special artillery guns will give thermonuclear fuel for the Sun-2018. Energetically, black gold, modern decrepit energetics and transport should die http://www.tutuz.com/irons-handcuffs-manacles-shackles-fetters-ferromagneti c-theory-cancer-iron-conception/ Ferromagnetic Cancer Theory-2006 will eat money of cancer researchers. Biblical anti-iron methods and Vangas irons-2012 will beat cancer and ALS (intracellular ferromagnetic infections) and AIDS (slow viral infection). Tigran H. & V. Shapoval South Carolina, USA http://www.tutuz.com/ ; http://digg.com/tigranh ; https://twitter.com/#!/tutuzblog ; http://www.go2web20.net/app/?a=kosmix ; http://getsatisfaction.com/go2web20/topics/allafrica_global_media_ferromagn etic_theory_of_cancer ; http://allafrica.com/stories/201104280465.html ; http://www.knowledgerush.com/kr/jsp/db/board.jsp?id=76088
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