Can healthy cells tell us how to stop bowel cancer spreading?
Co-funded with:
AECC
Cancer types:
Bowel cancer
Project period:
–
Research institute:
Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
Award amount:
£218,000
Location:
Spain
Dr Ana Cuenda and her team in Madrid are investigating how healthy cells can sometimes help bowel cancer cells move away from the original tumour and settle in other parts of the body. Her work could lead to new treatments for people with bowel cancer that has already spread, or that is at risk of spreading.
Why is this research needed?
Bowel cancer is one of the most common types of cancer worldwide and, like many cancers, it can sometimes spread to other parts of the body (a process called metastasis). Unfortunately once a cancer has spread, it is more difficult to treat. If we can understand more about how bowel cancer spreads, we can develop new and better ways to treat this type of disease.
Researchers already know that as cancer cells spread to another part of the body, they need healthy cells to ‘help’ them settle in to the new area. But they don’t yet know exactly how or why healthy cells do this. Dr Cuenda and her team want to find out, and during this project they will investigate in the lab how exactly these cells talk to and communicate with each other. Finding out these details is crucial for developing new treatments that will slow or stop cancer from spreading.
I want to sincerely thank all the Curestarters for their support and generosity. Thanks to them, cancer research progresses every day, allowing us, scientists, to find new ways to prevent, diagnose and treat this disease. Without their commitment, these advances would not be possible. They are a vital part of the fight against cancer.
What is the science behind this project?
Different cancers tend to spread to different parts of the body, and bowel cancer often spreads to the lungs or liver. For a cancer cell to be able to grow in these organs, it must first make a tiny area called a ‘niche’ to settle in. We already know cancer cells can persuade healthy cells in and around the niche to make it more hospitable (e.g. immune cells which might otherwise attack the cancer cell become quiet) but just how this process happens is still a mystery.
Dr Cuenda and her team have made it their mission to find out. They already have a good idea about the types of healthy cells that might be involved. One cell type, a fibroblast, helps organs in our body keep their structure. Another is a type of immune cell, called a myeloid cell, which is involved in our body’s defensive response to cancer.
During this project the team will grow these cells in the lab and study how they behave in mice with bowel cancer. They will use molecular techniques to silence the mechanisms that the cells use to communicate with each other, and study how this affects cancer growth.
What difference could this project make to patients in the future?
The detailed picture that the team will build up from this work will be an important step towards finding new ways to treat and prevent cancer that has spread. This work offers real hope for patients with advanced cancer, who often have limited treatment options.
What does it mean that this project is co-funded?
Our vision of seeing a day when no life is cut short by cancer is shared by many organisations, both in the UK and around the world. To maximise our impact and bring forward more new breakthroughs we are always looking to work with other cancer research funders. Working together helps us to advance research quickly and support the best ideas. We are pleased to be partnering with AECC in Spain on this project.
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