Nature Genetics has announced a new breakthrough in how cancer spreads: cancer uses the body's tissue repair process to spread cells throughout the body

Cancer Research UK-funded scientists have found that cancer cells "hijack" the spread of healthy cells throughout the body, which completely changes the current perception of
cancer metastasis.

The team at the University of Cambridge's Cancer Institute in the United Kingdom found that blocking the activity of the NALCN** protein in the cells of cancer-stricken mice triggers metastasis
.

The study, published in Natural Genetics (^29thSeptember), also found that this process is not limited to cancer
.
To their surprise, when they removed NALCN from mice without cancer, this caused their healthy cells to leave their original tissues and combine
with other organs throughout the body.

For example, they found that healthy cells from the pancreas migrate to the kidneys, where they become healthy kidney cells
.
This suggests that metastasis is not an abnormal process confined to cancer, as previously thought, but rather a normal process by which healthy cells are used by cancer to migrate to other parts of the body to produce metastasis
.

Professor Richard Gilbertson, head of the research team and director of the Cambridge Cancer Research Centre in the UK, said: "These findings are one
of the most important discoveries in my lab's 30 years.
Not only have we discovered an elusive driver of metastasis, but we've also upended the general understanding of it, showing how cancer hijacks healthy cells for its own benefit
.
If validated through further research, this will have a profound impact on how we prevent cancer from spreading and allow us to manipulate this process to repair damaged organs
.
" ”

Although metastasis is one of the leading causes of death in cancer patients, it remains difficult to prevent, largely because researchers have found it difficult to identify key drivers of the process that drugs can target
.
Now that they have identified the role of NALCN in metastasis, the team is looking at various ways to restore its function, including using drugs already on the market
.

Dr Eric Rahman, lead researcher of the study and senior researcher at the Cambridge Cancer Institute in the United Kingdom, said: "We are very excited to discover a protein that not only regulates the spread of cancer in the body without relying on tumor growth, but also regulates the shedding and repair
of normal tissue cells.
" We have a clearer understanding
of the process of controlling how cancer cells spread.
We can now consider whether it is possible to change the use of existing drugs to prevent this mechanism from triggering the spread
of cancer in patients.
”

Dr Catherine Elliott, research director at Cancer Research UK, said: "Once cancer has spread from the first tumor, it is more difficult to treat because we are looking at multiple parts of the body and working
with new tumours that may be resistant to treatment.
" Finding that cancer has spread is always devastating news for patients and their families, so we're excited to support this incredible study, and maybe one day it will allow us to prevent cancer from metastasizing and turn cancer into a disease
that is easier to survive.
" ”

The NALCN channel regulates metastasis and nonmalignant cell dissemination