Although more than 50% of cancers diagnosed each year are curable, those that metastasize – that is, when tumor cells spread from the main tumor to other organs – continue to be those with the worst prognosis and greatest resistance to treatment. .
Now, the journal Nature has published the largest genetic study to date of such invasions.
The results show that, from a genetic point of view, metastasis is less diverse than primary tumors. In addition, this work also highlights the difficulty of finding the key to its development: thousands of mutations are identified in each patient, but only a few dozen cause cancer.
The good news is that most mutations that turn a healthy cell into a tumor are almost the same in primary tumors as they are in metastases, although researchers have not yet found the extra factors for spread to occur.
The results also indicate that full sequencing can show ways to reuse already administered drugs for other uses. Specifically, in 62% of the patients analyzed, genetic markers were found that indicate that their tumors can be fought with specific treatments.
Within this group, 18% had genetic alterations treatable with a drug approved for their type of cancer, and 13% were susceptible to responding to medications not officially registered for these cases, but which are accessed exceptionally . Finally, the genetic profile of the metastasis of 31% of the individuals indicated that they could be vulnerable to therapeutic compounds in the testing phase.
Article written by Sandra Pulido
