Catalan researchers discover mechanism causing cancer recurrence

Researchers at Catalonia’s Vall d’Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO) have discovered a mechanism to block tumor cells responsible for the recurrence of several types of cancer.

Current treatments are aimed at cancer cells that reproduce without control, but they are not effective in suppressing dormant tumor cells that become inactive only to emerge later and bring about the disease again, according to VHIO’s lead researcher Héctor G. Palmer.

Following the group’s discovery, researchers are already designing therapies that could eventually remove such cells. Finding such therapies will take no less than 5 years, says Palmer, who describes the project ahead as “ambitious.”

VHIO’s goal was to find a “weak point” in dormant tumor cells. Investigators found that the epigenetic factor named TET2 is responsible for some cancer cells that go into hiding while remaining malign.

According to Palmer, the TET2 factor is active in several kinds of cancers, which increases the likelihood of patients experiencing cancer recurrence. He says these patients will benefit the most from future treatments blocking this mechanism.

Results of the study were published at the Journal of Clinical Investigation, one of the United States’ top peer-reviewed research journals in the field of medicine. The journal’s articles are freely available.