Tumor metastasis to distant organs is the main cause of death of cancer patients. The team of scientists of the Cancer Research Institute of the Tomsk NRMC is an interdisciplinary research team led by Honored Scientist of the Russian Federation, Professor Vladimir Perelmuter and Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Professor Nadezhda Cherdyntseva, is looking for ways to reduce the risk of metastasis. Scientists are investigating adverse immuno-inflammatory reactions in the microenvironment of a malignant tumor and their role in the acquisition of the ability of tumor cells to metastasize.
- We are trying to find out exactly how the stimulation of hematogenous metastasis occurs when patients undergo preoperative chemotherapy, and what role the tumor microenvironment plays in this, - said Professor Vladimir Perelmuter. - One of the important aspects of the problem and one's own view on the mechanisms of metastasis are reflected in the invited review "Mechanisms behind prometastatic changes induced by neoadjuvant chemotherapy in the breast cancer microenvironment".
- Just a month ago, an article "Towards targeting of shared mechanisms of cancer metastasis and therapy resistance" by the world's leading oncologists appeared in one of the highest-rated scientific journals on biomedicine "Nature" – Vladimir Perelmuter clarified. - The authors of the article refer to our review and believe that chemo- and radiotherapy can, by changing the microenvironment, increase the risk of metastasis in some patients.
The recognition of the probability of this undesirable effect of chemotherapy opens the way for the development and translation into clinical practice of the technology of accompanying chemotherapy for the prevention of metastatic disease.
- Nature Reviews/Cancer, www.nature.com/nrc. Felix Weiss, Douglas Lauffenburger and Peter Friedl, “Towards targeting of shared mechanisms of cancer metastasis and therapy resistance”.
– Patients receiving preoperative therapy should be protected from such adverse effects of treatment as the dissemination of the process, that is, the formation of secondary tumor foci in vital organs, - says Nadezhda Cherdyntseva, Deputy Director for Science at the Cancer Research Institute of the Tomsk NRMC.
- To successfully solve this problem, it is necessary to consolidate the oncological community and the active participation of clinicians in the translation of the approach into clinical practice.
- The research was supported by significant grants from the Russian Science Foundation (No. 19-75-30016, No. 14-15-00318)