Tag : Metastasis

Darlinghurst (Australia): Collagen type XII is essential for controlling how the tumour matrix is organised, according to a recent study from the Garvan Institute of Medical Research. High levels of collagen XII can cause breast cancer cells to metastasize, or spread from the primary tumour to different parts of the body, according to research conducted by a team of scientists led by Associate Professor Thomas Cox, Head of the Matrix and Metastasis lab. This study was published in the journal - Nature Communications. The extracellular matrix is a part of the ecosystem that surrounds a tumour and is known as the tumour microenvironment. Cancer cells and the tumour microenvironment are constantly interacting, which has an impact on how a tumour develops. Although collagen plays a significant role in the tumour microenvironment, it is unclear how exactly collagen affects tumours. We still don't fully understand the extracellular matrix's role in cancer metastasis. According to senior author Associate Professor Thomas Cox, collagen XII "plays an important role in the progression and metastasis of breast cancer. "Put cancer cells in the role of seeds and the tumour microenvironment in that of the soil. We can start to understand what makes some tumours more aggressive than others by studying the extracellular matrix, and consequently, we can start to develop new cancer treatments, he claims. According to the research, it may be possible to use measuring the amount of collagen XII in a patient's tumour biopsy as an additional screening tool to find metastatic breast cancers that are more likely to be aggressive, like the triple-negative variety. In addition, future therapies might consider targeting collagen XII. A 3D meshwork made up ...