Eradication of cancer could be impossible

Medical research: Cancer is ancient

06/26/2014

Every year, around 450,000 new cases of cancer occur in Germany. Every second affected person does not survive the disease. Research has been working hard for years to find new medicines and therapies that improve the chances of recovery. For some cancers, the prognosis was significantly improved. For others, mortality is still high, such as in lung or colorectal cancer. „Cancer is as old as the multicellular life on earth and can probably never be completely eradicated, "explains Professor Thomas Bosch from the Zoological Institute of the University of Kiel.An international team of researchers led by Bosch at least achieved a partial success recently Origin of cancer on the trail.

Already the first multicellular animals carried cancer genes
The fundamental findings of researchers on the development of cancer could in the future contribute to improve therapies. „Knowing our enemy from its creation is the best way to fight it, and to win many battles“, emphasizes Bosch. Although it has been known for some time that so-called cancer genes cause tumors, it has not yet been clear when and how the malignant tumors developed in the course of evolution. „In searching for the origin of the cancer genes, we unexpectedly found that many of these genes are derived from the first species of animals, "reports the co-author of the study, Tomislav Domazet-Lošo from Ruđer Bošković Institute and the Catholic University of Zagreb. „Our data predicted that even the first multicellular animals had most of the genes that can cause cancer in humans.“ However, it lacked the decisive evidence that these animals actually suffered from malignant tumors. Also unclear were the mechanisms that led to the development of the cancer.

Bosch has long been dealing with stem cells and the regulation of the tissue growth of the polyp species Hydra, which is very old phylogenetically. „Now we have discovered tumor-bearing polyps in two different Hydra species, a coral-like organism, "says the evolutionary biologist, adding that this proves that tumors could actually proliferate in primitive and very ancient species.

Programmed cell death does not work for every cell
As the investigation progressed, the research team made another important discovery: stem cells programmed for sexual differentiation are accumulating and can not be removed by programmed cell death. The tumors, which were very similar to human ovarian cancer, could only be detected in female hydra polyps. „In the further molecular analysis of the tumors, we came across a gene that is drastically up-regulated in tumor tissue and normally prevents programmed cell death, "says Alexander Klimovich, a fellow of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation at the Zoological Institute of Kiel University and co-author the study. „Since a non-functioning cell death machinery is also responsible for the growth and spread of tumors in many human cancers, there are striking similarities to human cancer. "

In addition, the researchers found that tumor cells are invasive. When introduced into healthy organisms, they can trigger the growth of a tumor there. Bosch suspects with regard to the research on the Hydra species: „Also the invasive property of cancer cells is ancient phylogenetically. "

Despite extensive cancer research, medical progress in fighting cancer is slow. Worldwide, the costs are immense. In the US alone, more than $ 500 billion was invested in cancer research in 2012 in search of new, improved therapies. The results of Bosch and his colleagues are another puzzle piece in the search for remedies for cancer. Their study results published the researchers in the journal „Nature Communications“.

First success in the development of a vaccine against brain tumors
Cancer researchers from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and the Heidelberg University Hospital have recently succeeded in developing a mutation-specific vaccine that triggers an immune reaction against a protein altered in brain tumors. As she is in the magazine „Nature“ report, the vaccine in mice stops tumor growth. A clinical trial to verify the results is already in the planning stage.