Disease metastasis: encouraging predictive technology

Research results from AACR 92nd Annual Meeting

NEW ORLEANS, March 24, 2001 - Even cancer treatments that appear to eliminate all clinical symptoms of disease may leave behind a small number of malignant cells. Whether it takes months or years, these hardy survivors eventually copy themselves unchecked until they spread to a new site.

New data presented at the 92nd annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) describe promising results in predicting, and one day preventing, the migration of wayward colon cancer cells to the liver.

Researchers at Georgetown University in Washington, DC have designed a method of "fingerprinting" molecules involved in helping cancer cells spread to distant organs and used it to identify a protein that may be involved in the spread of colon cancer to the liver.

"If confirmed, the outcome could be a test for detecting liver metastasis of colon cancer or a new approach to treating this common complication of colon cancer," said Justinian Ngaiza, M.D., Ph.D., clinical fellow in hematology/oncology at Georgetown's Lombardi Cancer Center.

Using a novel experimental technique, the investigators found that a protein known as Pa28 alpha, which is present in colon cancer cells, was selectively retained in the livers of mice injected with genetic material derived from a type of colon cancer. Scientists have theorized that interaction between so-called "adhesion" molecules on the surface of cancer cells and "address" molecules in blood vessels may determine where tumor metastases occur. This is the first study to identify Pa28 alpha as a candidate adhesion molecule that is preferentially attracted to a particular organ - in this case, the liver.

If further studies in mice and in human cells validate the technique developed by the Georgetown investigators, it could become a new tool to help scientists identify molecules that facilitate tumor metastasis in other types of cancer.

Most cancer deaths result from the uncontrollable spread of cancer cells from the original, or primary, tumor site to other body organs. The cells detach from the primary tumor, get into the bloodstream, and eventually attach themselves to the blood vessel wall of a distant organ, where they multiply into new tumors. Although the precise mechanisms by which tumors metastasize are poorly understood, it's known that different types of cancer are more likely to spread to certain organs than others. For example, colon cancer tumors frequently spread to the liver, whereas breast and prostate tumors tend to spread to bone.

More than 12,000 scientists from around the world will gather at this year's AACR meeting, March 24-28 at the Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, to exchange information on the most up-to-date scientific developments in cancer research. Other groundbreaking research to be highlighted includes: new targeted approaches for improved individualized treatments, dietary ingredients that may prevent cancer, the role of genetics in cancer risk, emerging technologies for the early detection of cancer, new strategies to target apoptosis, among others.

Founded in 1907, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) is a professional organization of more than 17,000 laboratory and clinical scientists engaged in cancer research in the United States, Canada, and more than 60 other countries. Working to prevent and cure cancer, AACR's principal activities include scientific communication; education and training of early career scientists; public education; scientific meetings for the presentation and discussion of discoveries in the cancer field; international programs; and the publication of five major peer-reviewed scientific journals (Cancer Research, Clinical Cancer Research, Cell Growth & Differentiation, Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, and Molecular Cancer Therapeutics).

News Briefing:
Monday, March 26th, 10:45 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. (CST)
Ernest Morial Convention Center
504-670-4020