Researchers at Queen’s University Belfast have found a way to block cancer cells from spreading, using healthy cells adjacent to cancerous tissue.
Encouraging lab results have been delivered for cancers of the throat and cervix, says the team led by Prof Dennis McCance of Queen’s Centre for Cancer Research and Cell Biology.
The tissues adjacent to tumour cells are not cancerous but can communicate with cancer cells, regulating their spread. The healthy cells release a substance called Retinoblastoma protein (Rb) that influences whether cancer cells will invade.
“When the Rb . . . is activated, this leads to a decrease in factors that encourage invasion by cancer cells, and so the cancer doesn’t spread,” Prof McCance said. He said the approach may be applicable to other cancers.
