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Cells Predict Cancer Spread in Children
Reported July 17, 2009
(Ivanhoe Newswire) – Endothelial progenitor cells may play a role in
the start and progression of metastatic disease in children with cancer,
according to a recent study.
Circulating endothelial cells are rare cells that shed from the lining of
blood vessels after vascular damage. Circulating endothelial cells and their
precursors, endothelial progenitor cells, have been described in previous
studies, but mainly in the context of cardiovascular disease.
"This is the first study to measure circulating endothelial cells and
endothelial progenitor cells in children with cancer, which can provide
insight as to the biology of their tumor vessels," researcher Françoise
Farace, Ph.D., director of the department of biology of circulating cells in
the translational research laboratory, Institut Gustave Roussy, France, was
quoted as saying.
"Not only were these cells found in higher levels in patients compared to
healthy volunteers,” Farace said, “but endothelial progenitor cells were
found in strikingly higher amounts in patients with metastatic disease."
Preclinical studies have shown these cells play a pivotal role in the
initiation of metastasis or the spread of disease in mice; however, until
now, their association with metastatic spread has not been demonstrated in
humans.
"Understanding the process of tumor vessel development in pediatric cancers
is of utmost importance, as pediatric patients are in dire need of new
treatment strategies including those which could target tumor vessels,"
researcher Melissa Taylor, M.D., pediatrician and doctoral student in the
translational research laboratory, Institut Gustave Roussy, France, was
quoted as saying.
"This study is very interesting. It demonstrated that these rare cells
detected in the blood of adult cancer patients are also important in
pediatric cancers," James L. Abbruzzese, M.D., F.A.C.P., chairman of the
department of gastrointestinal medical oncology, M.G. and Lillie A. Johnson
chair for cancer treatment and research and professor of medicine at the
University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center was quoted as saying. He is
also a deputy editor of Clinical Cancer Research.
"Understanding these vascular precursor cells and seeing the changes over
time may represent a real strategy for helping to identify drugs that might
work in the pediatric population," Abbruzzese said. "Insights as to which
patients are likely to develop metastases may help us to identify a subset
of patients that require more extensive therapy."
SOURCE: Clinical Cancer Research, July 15, 2009 |
