American scientists have found a way to prevent cancer from spread

After only 2 days of injection, the ability of cancer cells to move has been limited.

For a cancer patient, the first tumor itself is not really scary. Surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy can temporarily defeat cancer and help them live more years. However, once the cancer changes to metastasis, the patient's survival rate will be extremely low.

The good news is that a group of American scientists have found a way to prevent metastatic cancer. The method is being tested in mice, involving 20-HETE metabolites . It is a molecule that "betrays the body" , providing almost every condition for metastatic cancer to develop.

When cancer changes to metastasis, the patient's survival rate will be extremely low.

Metastasis is the process of 'finding new places' of cancer cells. Instead of staying in the original tumor, they begin to follow blood vessels to 'occupy' other organs in the body. Metastatic cancer causes new tumors to grow everywhere, most commonly in the lymph nodes, bones, liver and brain.

Treatment of cancer metastasis with doctors. Therefore, an important research direction of oncology is how to extinguish this process.

To do that, recently, a group of scientists from Augusta University tracked a metabolite called 20-HETE in the body. They found that this metabolite effectively supports metastatic cancer cells.

Preventing that, scientists injected a 20-HETE inhibitor into cancer mice. As a result, after 2 days, their metastasis is stopped.

What is 20-HETE?

20-HETE (20-Hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid) is a product after resolution of fatty acids. In the normal body, 20-HETE performs a number of very useful roles, from regulating blood flow to organs to transporting sodium and fluid in the kidneys.

In addition, this metabolite also helps the body fight infections and inflammatory diseases.

However, 20-HETE seems to have its dark side. Dr. Thaiz F. Borin said: 20-HETE supports the metastasis process as a "body traitor".

Molecular structure of acid 20-Hydroxyeicosatetraenoic.

"There are [20-HETE] functions that are normal, and have functions related to cancer. Once the tumors invade our system, they use that molecule to fight the body." , Dr. BR Achyut, co-author of the study explained.

Metastatic cancer begins when they send large amounts of abnormal cells from the primary tumor into the bloodstream. Most of these cells will die on the way. But even if a small amount of cells reach the new 'lands' , they are likely to develop into one or more secondary tumors.

For example, about 30% of breast cancer patients have metastatic tumors, which often grow in lymph nodes, bones, brain, lungs and liver. These new tumors are tumors of breast cancer cells, not cells in the lungs, bones or liver that develop into cancer themselves. For example, lung tumors are called metastatic breast cancer, not lung cancer.

To be able to grow from a few cells into a whole new tumor, cancer will need to mobilize a 'local' resource , right at their destination. And 20-HETE is the factor that gives cancer almost everything it needs, including building tissues and blood vessels that pump nutrients to new tumors.

According to Dr. Ali S. Arbab at the Georgia Cancer Center, many recent studies show that 20-HETE is endogenous to cancer in many ways. This metabolite activates protein kinase, growth factors that stimulate cell growth in size and proliferation. While that is the key processes of cancer.

As a prerequisite for development, tumors also need to create new blood vessels. And 20-HETE can help in this regard. With blood sources containing nutrients provided, cancer cells can divide, grow and continue to spread.

Stop standing cancer metastasis

Dr. Arbab and his team at Augusta University have spent many years researching cancer metastases and the processes behind it. In the most recent study published in PLOS ONE, they used a molecule called HET0016 to inhibit 20-HETE, not allowing it to support the process of cancer forming metastatic tumors.

20-HETE supports the formation of blood vessels to feed cancer cells.

To test the ability of HET0016, they injected cancer cells into the breasts of mice. Waiting for the cancer to develop and start to spread, the scientists added HET0016 to them.

The drug is injected 5 days a week and lasts for 3 consecutive weeks. The results were found only after the first 2 days, the mobility of cancer cells was limited.

HET0016 also reduces the amount of metalloproteinase in the lungs. It is an enzyme that breaks down protein structures, allowing cancer cells to penetrate organs and form new blood vessels to nourish them.

Similarly, many other molecules that support cancer cells also reduce levels, such as growth factors and cells that inhibit the myeloid origin.

Although HET0016 is not ready for human trials, this study has shown that 20-HETE will be a new research target, if scientists want to find ways to prevent metastatic cancer. In addition, Dr. Arbab noted that there are some cheap drugs on the market that inhibit this metabolite. That makes the direction of 20-HETE research promising.