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Science
Cancer Spread: Do Mechanical Forces Play a Role?
Why are some tumors more likely to spread? The physical properties of the tissue in which cancer starts may be important.
Cancer results from cells that have malfunctioned, dividing uncontrollably, and breaking out beyond their usual constraints. But almost every day I work in a radiation oncology clinic, I ask myself why some cancers are more likely to metastasize to distant body sites. Is it merely the fact that some cells are intrinsically aggressive? Or do other factors play a significant role?
A team at The Rockefeller University (New York City) found that:
“The mechanical properties of tissues that surround pre-cancer cells have a significant impact on the development of two of the most common forms of skin cancer. This causes one type to become far more aggressive and invasive than the other.”
The scientists looked at the most common skin cancer forms, basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma. The second is typically more aggressive. Led by postdoctoral fellow Vince Fiore in the laboratory of Dr. Elaine Fuchs (and in collaboration with colleagues at Princeton University), the researchers note that basal cell cancers begin as bud-like clusters of cells…
