Discovery of a New Element Contributing to Cancer Spread
A research collaboration led by McGill University in Canada has made significant strides in understanding how cancer spreads. Their clinical study involving patients with ovarian, colon, and rectal cancer found that cancer cells move through the bloodstream in clusters, a phenomenon more common than previously believed.
According to the study’s findings published in the journal "Communications Medicine," this discovery could help doctors identify patients at higher risk of rapid cancer spread to other organs, a knowledge that may guide treatment decisions. This could also open new avenues for therapy.
Cancer accounts for approximately one in four deaths in Canada. In most cases, it is not the original tumor that is fatal, but the spread of cancer to other organs, a process known as metastasis.
This process occurs when circulating tumor cells (CTCs) detach from the tumors, enter the bloodstream, and establish new tumors in other parts of the body. In rare cases, CTCs detach as a cluster of cells, sticking together to form a clump.
David Juncker, the lead researcher and Professor and Chair of Biomedical Engineering at McGill University, stated in a press release on Monday: "Our findings suggest that these clusters may play an underestimated role in metastasis. While clusters have recently been found to be more effective in forming new tumors, they have remained undetectable in most patients, and their role in disease spread has not been considered."
The researchers were able to make their discovery using a novel gentle filtration method they developed to capture clusters of cancer cells circulating in the bloodstream.
"We assumed that existing filtration methods might break apart the clusters during sample processing. Therefore, we developed a milder method to isolate them from the blood without disassembling them. Using this approach, we discovered a significantly larger number of circulating tumor cell clusters compared to previous reports," Juncker said.
This technique relies on an ultra-thin filter membrane—about one-fifth the thickness of a human hair—equipped with tiny pores that trap clusters of cancer cells while allowing smaller blood cells to pass through.
New Therapeutic Possibilities
The next phase of the research will apply this new method as a diagnostic tool to detect circulating tumor cells in colorectal cancer that have spread to the liver, which is one of the most challenging forms of the disease to treat.
Circulating tumor cell clusters could help classify patients into low and high-risk groups, thereby adjusting treatment accordingly.
The researchers’ discovery could also pave the way for new monitoring strategies by tracking circulating tumor cell clusters, leading to the development of novel therapeutic approaches.
Dr. Anne-Marie Messier-Mason from the Montreal University Health Centre added: "If tumor clusters are the primary driver of cancer spread, dismantling them may help halt metastasis and, thus, prevent disease progression."
