A new study has revealed that that the first ever treatment to prevent tumor metastasis has been developed.
Researchers at Universite catholique de Louvain (Belgium) successfully performed on models of human tumors in mice and pinpointed a family of pharmaceutical compounds whose action prevents the appearance of tumor metastasis.
The researchers achieved this tour de force by studying the mitochondria in tumor cells. These organelles are considered as the cells' power station. But when their functioning is altered, as the UCL researchers observed in tumor cells, the mitochondria can promote cell migration, thus leading to the formation of metastasis.
The study was published in the journal Cell Reports.
