The results of a preclinical study by researchers at Baylor College of Medicine have uncovered a strategy that triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) cells use to boost their ability to metastasize. Metastasis is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths and scientists are investigating ways to prevent it. Findings from the new study, carried out in vitro and through studies in live mice, highlight new possibilities for developing clinical interventions to treat metastatic TNBC patients for whom there are no specific therapies. Research lead Chonghui Cheng, MD, PhD, professor of molecular and human genetics and molecular and cellular biology at Baylor is corresponding author of the team’s published paper in Nature Communications, titled “Extracellular matrix mediates circulating tumor cell clustering in triple-negative breast cancer metastasis.” Cheng also is a member of the Lester and Sue Smith Breast Center and the Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center, both at Baylor. “Metastatic spreading of tumor cells to secondary sites remains the major cause of cancer-related deaths,” the authors wrote. “Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) represent an intermediate stage of metastasis and travel through the blood as single cells or as clusters.” Cheng added, “Metastasis occurs when cells break away from the main tumor and travel through the bloodstream to spread to other parts of the body where they can seed new growths. Scientists know that circulating tumor cells (CTC) are more likely to give rise to new tumors when they travel in clusters rather than as single cells. Clusters survive better and lodge in new organs more easily.” But there…
