Scientists from Stanford University found that when lung cancer cells metastasize to the brain, brain cells secrete special substances that facilitate the cancer’s survival. The research was published in the journal Nature Cell Biology.
Small cell lung cancer accounts for 10% to 15% of all lung cancers and is prone to metastasize to the brain: About 15% to 20% of people already have cancer cells in their brain when they are diagnosed with lung cancer. For this reason, doctors sometimes recommend brain radiation therapy to patients even before metastases are detected.
In a new study, scientists developed a way to inject laboratory-grown small cell lung cancer cells into the brains of mice. At the same time, specialized brain cells called astrocytes accumulated within the tumor and began producing proteins critical for brain development, including factors that stimulate nerve growth. It turns out that astrocytes “think” as normal young neurons that need to protect tumor cells.
“Small cell lung cancer is known for its ability to metastasize to the brain and grow in an environment typically not conducive to tumor growth. Our study shows that these cancer cells reprogram the brain microenvironment to recruit astrocytes for their defense,” the authors explained.
Blocking a chemical signal responsible for the survival of lung cancer cells may be a way to slow or stop the growth of brain metastases in small cell lung cancer, scientists say.
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