Scientists yesterday released the results of research into a new therapy targeting head and neck cancer that they said unlocked the mystery of why the presence of cancer cells often triggers the development of new blood vessels, providing the cells a means to obtain the oxygen and nutrition needed for growth and metastasis.
The study is the first in the world to cast light on tumor-induced angiogenesis, the formation of new blood cells.
Taiwan’s China Medical University professor of cancer biology Wu Kuo-jui (吳國瑞), who led the project, told a press conference in Taipei that cells from hypoxic head and neck cancer — cancers that develop in the oral cavity, larynx and pharynx — often produce an abnormally large amount of a protein known as Twist-related protein 1 (Twist 1), which regulates the formation of bones.
The excessive amount of Twist 1 in turn stimulates an intercellular signal transmission process between Jagger1 and KLF4 — proteins that control the genesis and sustenance of stem cells and which are vital in human development — leading to a process known as the epithelial-mesenchymal transition, during which a hypoxic cancer cell triggers the genesis of stem cells that subsequently develop into blood vessels, Wu said.
He said experiments conducted on rodents showed that the combination of Gamma-secretase inhibitors and Cetuximab, an anticancer drug, is effective in tackling cancer cells because the therapy cuts off the intercellular signaling pathway, which is essential for the process, thereby lowering the chances of the blood vessels forming.
“The therapy can shrink head and neck cancer cells to 20 to 25 percent of their original size and sometimes even destroy them,” Wu said.
He said that the type of cancer was chosen because it affects the sizable betel nut-chewing population in Taiwan, who have an 80 to 90 percent chance of contracting the diseases, in particular oral cancer, adding that the therapy could be applied to the treatment and containment of other cancers.
Chen Hsiao-fan (陳筱凡), the first author of an article on the findings, said the team made a breakthrough by proving the existence of the process involving epithelial-mesenchymal transition.
“Even though previous studies had linked the presence of cancer cells to angiogenesis, this is the first time that a scientific account of the process is provided,” Chen said.
Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Chien Chung-liang (錢宗良) said that such drugs would be imported because they are readily available, but they need to go through assessments by the Ministry of Health and Welfare before doctors could prescribe them.
Chien called on the health ministry to expedite its assessment so that the therapy could benefit people soon.
The team’s research was published by international science journal Nature Communications in August last year.
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