- Is it possible to stop the spread of Breast Cancer?
- Maybe so.
- A breakthrough in breast cancer research might be the answer doctors were looking for.
- A study conducted at UC San Francisco shows how blocking an enzyme present in the body can stop tumor cells from spreading.
- The team of researchers discovered an essential enzyme, MMP9, while studying a mouse model. They were investigating the spread of early-stage breast cancer.
- The research showed that the enzyme MMP9 was an essential factor in the spreading of tumor cells to other organs, which enables the spread of cancer.
- Metastasis of cancer is the growth of a tumor in a different region to where the tumor initially started.
- The spread or metastasis is the biggest hurdle in the treatment of cancer.
- After cancer spread to different organs, it can only be managed rather than treated.
- The discovery of an enzyme such as MMP9 is vital for early-stage breast cancer treatment.
- It is the breakthrough scientists needed!
- The enzyme MMP9 enables the spread of breast cancer to other organs by providing the tumor cells a safe place to replicate without any hindrance.
- The MMP9 also prevents immunotherapy by forming a barrier around the tumor cells.
- Hence, it is vital to deactivate the enzyme MMP9.
- The scientists conducted multiple experiments to investigate this further.
- The team injected tumor cells in mice that had early-stage breast cancer.
- They observed that the tumor cells spread to the lungs, and cancer metastasized.
- In another set of mice, they injected tumor cells + the antibody that deactivated the enzyme MMP9. Results showed no spread of the tumor to the lungs.
- It is remarkable!
- While there was no effect of the primary tumor present in the body, the spread of the cancer was effectively blocked by deactivating the enzyme MMP9.
- The result of this research is promising.
- It provides a new way to manage the treatment of early-stage breast cancer.
- Immunotherapy is a treatment often used to treat cancers. In this, the immune cells of the body target the tumor cells and destroy them.
- However, enzyme MMP9 prevents this from happening by creating a barrier.
- Hence, when an antibody deactivates the enzyme MMP9, immunotherapy can also be successful.
- A new treatment using a combination of MMP9 antibody and immunotherapy can effectively stop the spread of breast cancer to other organs!