PARIS —
Cancer-busting chemotherapy can cause damage to healthy cells which triggers
them to secrete a protein that sustains tumour growth and resistance to further
treatment, a study said Sunday.
A cancer
patient works on a puzzle
as she gets her chemotherapy treatment
(AFP/Getty
Images/File, Chris Hondros)
|
Researchers
in the United States made the "completely unexpected" finding while
seeking to explain why cancer cells are so resilient inside the human body when
they are easy to kill in the lab.
They tested
the effects of a type of chemotherapy on tissue collected from men with
prostate cancer, and found "evidence of DNA damage" in healthy cells
after treatment, the scientists wrote in Nature Medicine.
Chemotherapy
works by inhibiting reproduction of fast-dividing cells such as those found in
tumours.
The scientists
found that healthy cells damaged by chemotherapy secreted more of a protein
called WNT16B which boosts cancer cell survival.
"The
increase in WNT16B was completely unexpected," study co-author Peter
Nelson of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle told AFP.
The protein
was taken up by tumour cells neighbouring the damaged cells.
"WNT16B,
when secreted, would interact with nearby tumour cells and cause them to grow,
invade, and importantly, resist subsequent therapy," said Nelson.
In cancer
treatment, tumours often respond well initially, followed by rapid regrowth and
then resistance to further chemotherapy.
Rates of
tumour cell reproduction have been shown to accelerate between treatments.
"Our
results indicate that damage responses in benign cells... may directly
contribute to enhanced tumour growth kinetics," wrote the team.
The
researchers said they confirmed their findings with breast and ovarian cancer
tumours.
The result
paves the way for research into new, improved treatment, said Nelson.
"For
example, an antibody to WNT16B, given with chemotherapy, may improve responses
(kill more tumour cells)," he said in an email exchange.
"Alternatively,
it may be possible to use smaller, less toxic doses of therapy."
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