Ovarian cancer is treated almost universally with platinum-based chemotherapy, and most patients initially respond well. The problem is what happens afterward: the disease recurs in most patients and almost always spreads throughout the abdominal cavity. Prior research had already suggested that cancer cells not killed by chemotherapy — cells that enter a “senescent” state, meaning they stop dividing but remain biologically active — play a role in that later recurrence and spread, in part by releasing a complex mix of signaling molecules to nearby cells. What wasn’t clear was exactly which molecules mattered, or how.
What the Researchers Found
Using a large-scale genetic screening technique called a CRISPR screen, the team discovered that fructose released by these surviving cells suppresses cholesterol production in neighboring tumor cells. Cholesterol plays an important structural role in how cells stick to one another, similar to a biological glue — so when nearby cells have less of it, they become more prone to detaching from the tumor and migrating elsewhere in the body. “Some cancer cells that survive chemotherapy aren’t dividing anymore, but they’re still biologically active,” Dr. Cole said. “Instead, they continue to release molecules that send signals to nearby cells. Our study is among the first to show that a nutrient — in this case, fructose — can act as one of those signals,” rather than simply functioning as fuel for growth.
A Question the Findings Raise, Not an Answer
Because the mechanism runs through cholesterol, the findings raise an open question the researchers themselves haven’t tested yet: whether combining cholesterol-lowering drugs with chemotherapy might help. Dr. Aird noted this is a particularly relevant question given that ovarian cancer is most common in postmenopausal women, many of whom are already taking statins for cardiovascular reasons. It’s worth being precise here — this is a hypothesis worth investigating, not evidence that statins currently help or harm cancer outcomes, and the researchers have not tested this effect in patients.
What’s Still Unknown
For Complete Cooking STEPS Please Head On Over To Next Page Or Open button (>) and don’t forget to SHARE with your Facebook friends.
