03 Aug Wistar Study: Chemotherapy-Induced Senescent Cells Produce Fructose That Drives Ovarian Cancer Spread
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Aidan Cole, PhD
Postdoctoral Researcher, Aird Lab
The Wistar Institute, Philadelphia
Aidan Cole, PhD[/caption]
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Dr. Cole: Our lab was interested in what happens in a tumor after chemotherapy treatment when some cells stop proliferating and growing the tumor but are not killed. These are called senescent cells, and they are of particular interest in ovarian cancer because of the prevalence of cancer recurrence and spread after initially responding to treatment.
The biggest finding is we learned how these senescent cells communicate with cancerous cells to get them to loosen their grip on the tumor and spread to other parts of the body. This communication occurs when senescent cells produce a sugar called fructose. For the first time, we've shown that a nutrient can be produced in these senescent cells and used by cancer cells in a way that worsens cancer spread. This builds on research previously covered on MedicalResearch.com exploring how senescence in ovarian cancer cells may contribute to chemotherapy resistance.