Researchers at the University of Cambridge found new ways of creasing spread of cancer tumor. According to the study, healthy cells around the tumor should be kept alive to stop the spread of cancer.
This study is in contrary to the present cancer treatment with chemotherapy that kills the cells. Cancer tumor spreads by killing healthy cells surrounding it to make space for it to grow. Keeping cells alive rather than killing them can be more helpful for the patients.
Patients who undergo chemotherapy feel extremely unwell as the radiation kills the healthy cells as well.
The new research suggests that it is imperative to save the healthy cells to prevent the spread of the disease.
Dr Eugenia Piddini stated that it might sound counterintuitive for not attacking the tumor but she explained the theory citing the example of an army fighting a titan. She said that the army could stand in a better position if the soldiers are protected from dying, according to The Telegraph.
The study was conducted with fruit flies that were genetically manipulated to develop intestinal tumors. The tumors in the fruit flies demonstrated for the first time how tumor proliferates and grows by damaging the healthy cells surrounding it. The cancerous cells encourage apoptosis, a process of programmed cell death, in the surrounding healthy cells.
The researchers then manipulated genes in the flies so that the cells could resist apoptosis and works as an impermeable shield around tumor that prevented spread of cancerous cells.
Dr Alan Worsley, senior science information officer at Cancer Research UK, said "This intriguing study in fruit flies suggests that if researchers can turn off the signals that tell healthy cells to die, they could act as a barrier that boxes cancer cells in and stunts their growth. We don't yet know if the same thing would work in patients, but it highlights an ingenious new approach that could help to keep early stage cancers in check."