Mucus-coated tumor spheres reveal potential targets to curb colorectal cancer spread

Researchers from the University of Turku in Finland and Gustave Roussy Institute in France have discovered a molecular mechanism that regulates whether cells in an aggressive colorectal cancer are conventional or inverted as they spread in the body. The discovery can help identify patients at elevated risk of the cancer metastasizing to the abdominal cavity. The study was published in the journal Nature Communications.

Mucus-coated tumor spheres reveal potential targets to curb colorectal cancer spread. Mucus-coated tumor spheres reveal potential targets to curb colorectal cancer spread by University of Turku edited by Lisa Lock, reviewed by Robert Egan Lisa Lock Scientific Editor Meet our editorial team Behind our editorial process Robert Egan Senior Editor Meet our editorial team Behind our editorial process Editors' notes This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: fact-checked peer-reviewed publication trusted source proofread The GIST Add as preferred source The mucus, which appears white in the image, protects the cluster of cancer cells (marked in blue and green) from, among other things, chemotherapy, as the tumor sphere moves across the peritoneum.

In the image on the right, the white mucus has moved to the center of the tumor mass and the cancer cells are ready to attach themselves to the surrounding tissue at their new site of growth. The researchers studied mucinous colorectal adenocarcinoma, an aggressive form of cancer that accounts for around 10%–15% of all colorectal cancers. Unlike most colorectal cancers, mucinous colorectal adenocarcinoma spreads in the form of small, compact clusters of cells.

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