There are still many mysteries about cancer, which is one of the biggest diseases of our age, which causes the death of approximately 10 million people every year. One of these mysteries was how cancer cells, after leaving a tumor, remained dormant for years before spreading to other parts of the body and turning into metastatic cancer.
However, in the light of recent research, it was finally revealed why. According to the findings published in Nature Cancer, it was understood that the reason why cancerous cells stay dormant for years is a type of collagen found around the cell.
With the decrease of collagen level, cells become malignant
According to research, cells remain silent for a while by secreting a type of collagen called type III collagen around them; However, as a result of the decrease in collagen level, these cells become malignant. The researchers think that as a result of enriching the surrounding of the cells with this collagen, it may be possible to keep the cancerous cells dormant and thus prevent the recurrence of the tumor. Assoc. Dr. Jose Javier Bravo-Cordero explains, “As the biology of tumor dormancy becomes clear and new specific drugs are developed, combining sleep-inducing therapies with therapies that specifically target dormant cells will eventually prevent local recurrence and metastasis and pave the way to cancer remission.” uses expressions.
Awakening of cancerous cells can be prevented by collagen supplementation
Intravital two-photon microscopy, including intravital two-photon microscopy, a technology that allows the visualization of dormant cells in a living animal in real time in their environment In the study, using high-resolution imaging techniques, including breast, head and neck cancer cell lines, dormant tumor cells were observed in mouse models. Using this technology, the researchers created a visualization of both the changes that occur in the extracellular matrix when tumor cells are dormant, and the changes that occur when cells are activated and awakened.
After examining samples from patients, the researchers concluded that collagen abundance could be used as a potential measure for predicting tumor recurrence and metastasis. In experiments on mice, researchers increased the amount of type III collagen around cancer cells, and observed that cancer progression in these cells was stopped and malignant cells were forced into a dormant state.
This means that type III collagen can be used to prevent metastasis, with strategies aimed at enriching the tumor microenvironment, similar to the treatment of complex skin wounds. In other words, it may be possible to avoid the disease by preventing the awakening of cancerous cells.
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