New genes identified that regulate the spread of cancers

January 11, 2017 in Medicine & Health / Cancer


The spread of tumours—metastasis—to other sites in the body is the leading cause of death for . Up to 90 per cent of cancer deaths are due to this, however the process that regulates the spread of tumours is very poorly understood.



Dr David Adams from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, said: "Loss of the Spns2 gene causes the greatest reduction in the formation of tumour colonies and represents a novel therapeutic target. We found that mice lacking Spns2 have a different ratio of immune system cells than normal, which seems to prime the immune system to remove cancer. Drugs that target this could help reduce or prevent the spread of tumours through the body."

Before this study, the Spns2 gene was known to affect the immune system, but was not implicated in tumour spread. It codes for a protein that transports a lipid, S1P, which signals to the immune system. Without this transporter protein, the signaling doesn't work properly and results in changes in the proportion of different immune cells in the body.

Dr Anneliese Speak from the Sanger Institute, said: "This work supports the emerging area of immunotherapy, where the bodies' own immune system is harnessed to fight cancer. Drugs could be designed to bind to the S1P transporter, preventing it from working and causing advantageous changes to the . Investigation of further targets in the Spns2 pathway, or other targets identified in this study could help develop potential therapies."

Dr Justine Alford, Cancer Research UK's senior science information officer, said: "This study in mice gives a new insight into the that play a role in cancer spreading and may highlight a potential way to treat in the future. Cancer that has spread is tough to treat, so research such as this is vital in the search for ways to tackle this process."


Provided by Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute

"New genes identified that regulate the spread of cancers" January 11, 2017 https://medicalxpress.com/news/2017-01-genes-cancers.html