Research To Shed Light on How Cancer Tumours Progress and Grow


A better comprehension of how cancer tumours progress and grow will soon be obtained by the medics owing to the research that has been conducted by an international collaboration. The research publication makes an examination of the various cells that include tumours interact, in what is called the tumor microenvironment (TME). The research has been published on the journal Biofabrication.

Significance of Soluble and Mechanical Cues in the Progression of Tumor is Highlighted

Professor David Mooney, senior author from Harvard University, USA, said that the tumor microenvironment is marked by a complicated network of interactions between different the extracellular matrix (ECM) and cells. Together, these elements make a contribution towards the microenvironmental regulation of tumor progression and spread of cancer to other parts of the body. He further added that the aim of the study is to facilitate better understanding of how these interactions work, which in turn eventually would assist with the prediction and halting of the spread and growth of cancer tumours.

In an effort to do this, the scientists came up with an in vitro 3-D cellular model of a lung cancer tumor on an interpenetrating hydrogel. This has enabled them to investigate how macrophages which is a kind of cell in the body is capable of absorbing and engulfing bacteria and other particles and small cells, and the stiffness of the extracellular matrix that fuel transition of epithelial-to-mesenchymal, which is the very basic step in the metastasis of cancer cell.

Dr. Marta Alonso-Nocelo, first author and from the Health Research Institute of Santiago de Compostela, Spain, said that the extracellular matrix is not just a supportive structure and is now considered as an essential dynamic component, hosting multiple mechanical and biochemical signals that regulate tumor progression.

The research highlights the significance of both soluble and mechanical cues in the progression of tumor. It also makes a demonstration of how the mechanical properties of the tumor microenvironment can affect growth of the tumor cell and tumor microenvironment, also impacting how tumor cells modulate and are impacted by macrophages.

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