By Elaine Fuchs – The Rockefeller University
Image Caption: TGF beta signaling (red) is one way that the environment causes cancer stem cells at the stroma-tumor border (green) to become invasive. Living cells are dyed blue. Credit: Shaopeng Yuan
What drives tumor growth? Is it a few rogue cells imposing their will upon healthy tissue, or diseased tissue bringing out the worst in otherwise peaceable cells? Or is it a back-and-forth, a dialogue between the two? According to a new study, it may be the latter, at least when it comes to the progression of one common skin cancer.
Researchers found that a single mutated gene in an otherwise healthy stem cell can kick off an increasingly deviant feedback loop of miscommunication between the cancerous stem cell and its surrounding tissue, fueling the development of a malignant tumor. The findings suggest that many of the mutations in cancer may simply be setting in stone a path already forged by the tumor stem cell’s aberrant dialogue with its surroundings. If these results, published in Nature, prove broadly applicable, the findings could pave the way for novel approaches to treating a range of cancers.