Cancer cells can be killed in blood before reaching healthy organs
Scientists at Cornell University have discovered that injecting proteins into the blood attracts and kills cancer cells before they can spread from primary tumours to healthy organs.
By Sarah Knapton, Science Correspondent
Cancer cells can be destroyed in the bloodstream to prevent them from reaching healthy organs, scientists have found, in a breakthrough which could prevent 90 per cent of deaths.
Researchers have developed a method of attaching cancer-killing proteins to white blood cells which travel through the blood.
Currently surgery and radiation are effective at treating primary tumours but it is often difficult to spot secondary cancer in other parts of the body until it is too late for treatment.
Now researchers believe they can kill cancer as it travels through the bloodstream and prevent the disease from metastasising, or infecting other organs.
"These circulating cancer cells are doomed,” said Michael King, professor of biomedical engineering at Cornell University in the US.
"About 90 percent of cancer deaths are related to metastases, but now we've found a way to dispatch an army of killer white blood cells that cause apoptosis - the cancer cell's own death - obliterating them from the bloodstream.
"When surrounded by these guys, it becomes nearly impossible for the cancer cell to escape."
In laboratory tests Prof King injected human blood samples, and later mice, with two proteins, one which acts as an adhesive and one which kills cancer cells.
When a cancer cell comes into contact with sticky proteins, which is nearly unavoidable in the frenzied flow of blood, the cancer cell essentially kills itself.
He added: "The mechanism is surprising and unexpected in that this repurposing of white blood cells in flowing blood is more effective than directly targeting the cancer cells with liposomes or soluble protein."
When treating cancer cells with the proteins in saline, the researchers found a 60 per cent success rate in killing the cancer cells.
The study was published online in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
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Breakthrough as scientists discover how to destroy cancer cells in the blood stream before they infect other parts of the body
Specially selected proteins can be attached to white blood cells so that as they travel through the blood, they also destroy cancerous cells Biomedical engineers at Cornell University made the breakthrough, which prevents the disease from infecting other organs They discovered that when a cancer cell comes into contact with the TRAIL protein in the blood stream, it essentially kills itself
A revolutionary method of destroying cancer cells in the blood stream before they infect other parts of the body has been discovered by biomedical engineers.
Proteins that kill cancer cells can be attached to white blood cells - which protect the body from infections - so that as they travel through the blood, they also destroy cancerous cells.
This new technique prevents the disease from infecting other organs, U.S. researchers said. Proteins that kill cancer cells can be attached to white blood cells (pictured using a SEM and magnified x6,600) - which protect the body from infections - so that as they travel through the blood, they also destroy cancerous cells
Proteins that kill cancer cells can be attached to white blood cells (pictured using a SEM and magnified x6,600) - which protect the body from infections - so that as they travel through the blood, they also destroy cancerous cells
HOW ARE THE CANCEROUS CELLS KILLED USING THE NEW METHOD?
Proteins that kill cancer cells - E-selectin, an adhesive, and Tumour Necrosis Factor Related Apoptosis-Inducing Ligand (TRAIL) - can be attached to white blood cells.
Together the proteins stick to white blood cells, which are abundant in the bloodstream.
When a cancer cell comes into contact with TRAIL, which is nearly unavoidable in the frenzied flow of blood, the cancer cell essentially kills itself.
The engineers said the repurposing of white blood cells in flowing blood is more effective than directly targeting the cancer cells with liposomes or soluble protein.
Surgery and radiation are effective at treating primary tumours, but difficulty in detecting metastatic cancer cells (cancerous cells that spread from one organ to another) has made treatment of the spreading cancers very difficult.
However, researchers at Cornell University, New York, believe their new technique solves this problem.
Lack of exercise puts UK women near top of cancer league table: Britons among most likely to suffer bowel, breast and wombs forms of the disease A cure for pancreatic cancer 'could be available within ten years', scientists claim
Michael King, professor of biomedical engineering at the university, said: ‘These circulating cancer cells are doomed.
‘About 90 per cent of cancer deaths are related to metastases, but now we’ve found a way to dispatch an army of killer white blood cells that cause apoptosis - the cancer cell’s own death - obliterating them from the bloodstream.
‘When surrounded by these guys, it becomes nearly impossible for the cancer cell to escape.’
Professor King injected human blood samples and later mice, with two proteins in laboratory tests. Surgery and radiation are effective at treating primary tumours, but difficulty in detecting metastatic cancer cells (cancerous cells that spread from one organ to another) has made treatment of the spreading cancers very difficult. A scan of pulmonary metastases is pictured
Surgery and radiation are effective at treating primary tumours, but difficulty in detecting metastatic cancer cells (cancerous cells that spread from one organ to another) has made treatment of the spreading cancers very difficult. A scan of pulmonary metastases is pictured
One protein was an adhesive called E-selectin and the other was Tumour Necrosis Factor Related Apoptosis-Inducing Ligand (TRAIL).
The TRAIL protein joined with the E-selectin protein stick to leukocytes, otherwise known as white blood cells, which are abundant in the bloodstream.
When a cancer cell comes into contact with TRAIL, which is nearly unavoidable in the frenzied flow of blood, the cancer cell essentially kills itself, the researchers explained in the study, which is published online in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. When a cancer cell comes into contact with the TRAIL protein, which is nearly unavoidable in the frenzied flow of blood (pictured), the cancer cell essentially kills itself, the researchers explained
When a cancer cell comes into contact with the TRAIL protein, which is nearly unavoidable in the frenzied flow of blood (pictured), the cancer cell essentially kills itself, the researchers explained
‘The mechanism is surprising and unexpected in that this repurposing of white blood cells in flowing blood is more effective than directly targeting the cancer cells with liposomes or soluble protein,’ Professor King said.
When treating cancer cells with the proteins in saline, the researchers found a 60 per cent success rate in killing the cancer cells.
In normal laboratory conditions, the saline lacks white blood cells to serve as a carrier for the adhesive and killer proteins.
However, once the proteins were added to flowing blood that mimicked human-body conditions, the success rate in killing the cancer cells jumped to nearly 100 per cent.
In normal laboratory conditions, the saline lacks white blood cells to serve as a carrier for the adhesive and killer proteins.
Once the proteins were added to flowing blood that mimicked human-body conditions, however, the success rate in killing the cancer cells jumped to nearly 100 percent.
Dr Sarah Hazell, senior science information officer at Cancer Research UK, said: “This new approach is a very exciting piece of science that may hold great promise in its ability to stop cancer cells spreading.
It’s early days at the moment though, because the research was done in human blood in the lab and in live mice, but not in patients.
"Much more research is needed to see if the technique could actually stop the spread of cancer in humans.”
www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2534792/Scientists-discover-destroy-cancer-cells-blood-stream.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/13/h...anted=all&_r=0
Scientists at Cornell University have discovered that injecting proteins into the blood attracts and kills cancer cells before they can spread from primary tumours to healthy organs.
By Sarah Knapton, Science Correspondent
Cancer cells can be destroyed in the bloodstream to prevent them from reaching healthy organs, scientists have found, in a breakthrough which could prevent 90 per cent of deaths.
Researchers have developed a method of attaching cancer-killing proteins to white blood cells which travel through the blood.
Currently surgery and radiation are effective at treating primary tumours but it is often difficult to spot secondary cancer in other parts of the body until it is too late for treatment.
Now researchers believe they can kill cancer as it travels through the bloodstream and prevent the disease from metastasising, or infecting other organs.
"These circulating cancer cells are doomed,” said Michael King, professor of biomedical engineering at Cornell University in the US.
"About 90 percent of cancer deaths are related to metastases, but now we've found a way to dispatch an army of killer white blood cells that cause apoptosis - the cancer cell's own death - obliterating them from the bloodstream.
"When surrounded by these guys, it becomes nearly impossible for the cancer cell to escape."
In laboratory tests Prof King injected human blood samples, and later mice, with two proteins, one which acts as an adhesive and one which kills cancer cells.
When a cancer cell comes into contact with sticky proteins, which is nearly unavoidable in the frenzied flow of blood, the cancer cell essentially kills itself.
He added: "The mechanism is surprising and unexpected in that this repurposing of white blood cells in flowing blood is more effective than directly targeting the cancer cells with liposomes or soluble protein."
When treating cancer cells with the proteins in saline, the researchers found a 60 per cent success rate in killing the cancer cells.
The study was published online in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Breakthrough as scientists discover how to destroy cancer cells in the blood stream before they infect other parts of the body
Specially selected proteins can be attached to white blood cells so that as they travel through the blood, they also destroy cancerous cells Biomedical engineers at Cornell University made the breakthrough, which prevents the disease from infecting other organs They discovered that when a cancer cell comes into contact with the TRAIL protein in the blood stream, it essentially kills itself
A revolutionary method of destroying cancer cells in the blood stream before they infect other parts of the body has been discovered by biomedical engineers.
Proteins that kill cancer cells can be attached to white blood cells - which protect the body from infections - so that as they travel through the blood, they also destroy cancerous cells.
This new technique prevents the disease from infecting other organs, U.S. researchers said. Proteins that kill cancer cells can be attached to white blood cells (pictured using a SEM and magnified x6,600) - which protect the body from infections - so that as they travel through the blood, they also destroy cancerous cells
Proteins that kill cancer cells can be attached to white blood cells (pictured using a SEM and magnified x6,600) - which protect the body from infections - so that as they travel through the blood, they also destroy cancerous cells
HOW ARE THE CANCEROUS CELLS KILLED USING THE NEW METHOD?
Proteins that kill cancer cells - E-selectin, an adhesive, and Tumour Necrosis Factor Related Apoptosis-Inducing Ligand (TRAIL) - can be attached to white blood cells.
Together the proteins stick to white blood cells, which are abundant in the bloodstream.
When a cancer cell comes into contact with TRAIL, which is nearly unavoidable in the frenzied flow of blood, the cancer cell essentially kills itself.
The engineers said the repurposing of white blood cells in flowing blood is more effective than directly targeting the cancer cells with liposomes or soluble protein.
Surgery and radiation are effective at treating primary tumours, but difficulty in detecting metastatic cancer cells (cancerous cells that spread from one organ to another) has made treatment of the spreading cancers very difficult.
However, researchers at Cornell University, New York, believe their new technique solves this problem.
Lack of exercise puts UK women near top of cancer league table: Britons among most likely to suffer bowel, breast and wombs forms of the disease A cure for pancreatic cancer 'could be available within ten years', scientists claim
Michael King, professor of biomedical engineering at the university, said: ‘These circulating cancer cells are doomed.
‘About 90 per cent of cancer deaths are related to metastases, but now we’ve found a way to dispatch an army of killer white blood cells that cause apoptosis - the cancer cell’s own death - obliterating them from the bloodstream.
‘When surrounded by these guys, it becomes nearly impossible for the cancer cell to escape.’
Professor King injected human blood samples and later mice, with two proteins in laboratory tests. Surgery and radiation are effective at treating primary tumours, but difficulty in detecting metastatic cancer cells (cancerous cells that spread from one organ to another) has made treatment of the spreading cancers very difficult. A scan of pulmonary metastases is pictured
Surgery and radiation are effective at treating primary tumours, but difficulty in detecting metastatic cancer cells (cancerous cells that spread from one organ to another) has made treatment of the spreading cancers very difficult. A scan of pulmonary metastases is pictured
One protein was an adhesive called E-selectin and the other was Tumour Necrosis Factor Related Apoptosis-Inducing Ligand (TRAIL).
The TRAIL protein joined with the E-selectin protein stick to leukocytes, otherwise known as white blood cells, which are abundant in the bloodstream.
When a cancer cell comes into contact with TRAIL, which is nearly unavoidable in the frenzied flow of blood, the cancer cell essentially kills itself, the researchers explained in the study, which is published online in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. When a cancer cell comes into contact with the TRAIL protein, which is nearly unavoidable in the frenzied flow of blood (pictured), the cancer cell essentially kills itself, the researchers explained
When a cancer cell comes into contact with the TRAIL protein, which is nearly unavoidable in the frenzied flow of blood (pictured), the cancer cell essentially kills itself, the researchers explained
‘The mechanism is surprising and unexpected in that this repurposing of white blood cells in flowing blood is more effective than directly targeting the cancer cells with liposomes or soluble protein,’ Professor King said.
When treating cancer cells with the proteins in saline, the researchers found a 60 per cent success rate in killing the cancer cells.
In normal laboratory conditions, the saline lacks white blood cells to serve as a carrier for the adhesive and killer proteins.
However, once the proteins were added to flowing blood that mimicked human-body conditions, the success rate in killing the cancer cells jumped to nearly 100 per cent.
In normal laboratory conditions, the saline lacks white blood cells to serve as a carrier for the adhesive and killer proteins.
Once the proteins were added to flowing blood that mimicked human-body conditions, however, the success rate in killing the cancer cells jumped to nearly 100 percent.
Dr Sarah Hazell, senior science information officer at Cancer Research UK, said: “This new approach is a very exciting piece of science that may hold great promise in its ability to stop cancer cells spreading.
It’s early days at the moment though, because the research was done in human blood in the lab and in live mice, but not in patients.
"Much more research is needed to see if the technique could actually stop the spread of cancer in humans.”
www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2534792/Scientists-discover-destroy-cancer-cells-blood-stream.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/13/h...anted=all&_r=0
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