Scientists turn cancer cells into fat cells in mice

It is a dreaded disease worldwide, recently named the second leading cause of death worldwide, according to the Mayo Clinic. Cancer is severely debilitating and, when it is rooted in a specific part of the body, it quickly destroys energy and well-being for the patient.

Fortunately, there is ongoing research on the best way to fight and cure this disease, and the survival rate is currently increasing for many types of cancer.

One of the most recent studies examined how to change the inherent nature of cancer cells. Scientists from the University of Basel in Switzerland have managed not only to prevent the spread of cancer cells, but also to change their constitution. They turned the cancer cells into fat cells, preventing their uncontrollable division and preventing further metastases.

How did the study take place?

During the process of metastasis – when cancer cells leave the main growth site of the tumor to grow in other parts of the body – there is a period during which cancer cells may temporarily be in the state immature, almost in the same way as stem cells. This is known as the epithelial-mesenchymal transition or EMT, and during this period of change, it is possible to administer various types of modifications to the cancer cells, which are highly adaptable.

Researchers began by grafting bad cancer cells into female mice, followed by treatment with two FDA-approved drugs for mice, namely rosiglatizone (used to treat type II diabetes) and trimetinib. Although rosiglitazone can induce the conversion of stem cells into fat cells, trimetinib is an anticancer drug that prevents cancer cells from multiplying and developing.

When the mice were treated with a badtail of these two drugs during the EMT period, the results indicated that some of the bad cancer cells – those that detach from the main tumor site during metastasis – were brought to to become harmless fat cells. to travel to develop in other parts of the body. In addition, the combination of rosiglitazone and trimetinib helped stop other metastases and prevent the growth of the main tumor.

This is beneficial not only because once it has been modified, a fat cell is unable to divide further and can not produce cells, but also because it will not become cancerous during its lifetime, which will secure it. Medical News Daily reports that the study's lead author, Gerhard Christofori – a professor in the department of biomedicine – is positive about the approach and how it can be used in medicine. other cancer treatments. "In the future," he said, "this innovative therapeutic approach could be used in combination with conventional chemotherapy to suppress both primary tumor growth and the formation of fatal metastases."

The results were published in an article of the journal Cancer cells. Learn more about the study here.

Want to know more?

We all experience some level of cellular mutation because of environmental and genetic factors. Dr. Georgia Demetriou, an oncologist at Wits Donald Gordon Medical Center, says the older you are, the more time your cells have had to be exposed to environmental risk factors that cause mutations. It is also more likely that they have pbaded them on to other cells. This increases your risk of cancer. Click on the link to find out everything you need to know about cancer prevention and screening.