One of the scariest aspects of receiving a cancer diagnosis is learning how far the disease has spread throughout the body. An individual’s prognosis can vary greatly depending on the extent of the cancer’s progression - if it has spread too much, modern treatments can do little to stop it.
But now, researchers have found a critical element that may explain why some cancers spread farther and faster than others – a discovery that could lead to treatments capable of containing the disease.
Scientists from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have identified a protein that seems to serve as a switch, regulating the spread of cancer from the primary tumor to distant spots in the body – a process known as metastasis. The protein is used by embryo cells during early development, but then disappears from the body after an individual comes out of the womb.
According to the scientists, the protein was only found in people who had metastatic cancer.
In my opinion this is awesome because even if they still don't find how to stop the cancer, they are working in it. But this protein can help people so I think that this new is very interesting.
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