Why are some cancers inherently bad?
A groundbreaking study revealed why some patients are more lethal than others, although they look the same.
Scientists at the Francis Crick Institute have developed a method to analyze the history of cancer to predict its future. Studies of patients with kidney cancer have shown that some tumors are "born bad," while others have never become aggressive and may not require treatment.
The British Cancer Research Center said that this study can help patients get the best care. Researcher and cancer doctor Samra Turajlic said: "We really don't have the tools to distinguish between treatments that need treatment and can be observed. A cancer may die soon, and a completely identical cancer patient may survive for decades after treatment. This means the uncertainty of the patient and the doctor. This is most common among people aged 60s or 70s. Symptoms include: The persistent pain in your back or side of your blood. Sometimes your body has a lump or swelling.
The study was published in three papers in Cell magazine and analyzed kidney cancer in 100 patients. The team at Crick conducted a complex genetic feat to study the history of cancer. Its role is similar to that of steroids for paternity testing or pedigree testing. As cancers grow and evolve, they become more mutated and eventually the different parts of the tumor begin to mutate in different ways.
The researchers collected dozens of samples from different parts of the same tumor and then calculated how relevant they were. It allows scientists to piece together the evolutionary history of the entire tumor. "It also tells us where the tumor may go," Dr. Tulalic said. Change nursing opportunities Researchers can divide kidney cancer into three categories: Born to be BadBenign Intermediate "Naturally bad" tumors have rapid and extensive mutations and can grow rapidly, and they may already be scattered around the body even before detection. Surgery to remove the original tumor may delay the use of drugs that slow the disease.
Benign tumors are completely the opposite and may become so slow that they may never be a problem for the patient and can only be monitored. The tumor in the middle may initially spread to another location in the body and can be treated surgically. 72-year-old Michael Malley from London participated in tests at the Royal Marsden Hospital after being diagnosed with kidney cancer. He said: "Obviously, these studies are very important for understanding how kidney cancer progresses over time. I hope to one day provide better treatment for patients like me." How to best adjust the treatment of each type of tumor, and even how to conduct such tests in a hospital instead of a research laboratory, remains a challenge.
The tools used in this study are being investigated in other cancers, including lung cancer. Dr Turajlic said: "We have no doubt that they will apply to other types of cancer."
The study also showed that the earliest mutations that caused kidney cancer occurred half a century before cancer was detected. Harper Kumar, chief executive of the British Cancer Research Corporation, said the study was "invasive." He added: "Over the years, we have been working hard to resolve the fact that patients with seemingly similar diagnoses have very different results. "We learned from the history of these tumors to better predict the future. "
This is very important because we hope we can predict the path that cancer will bring for each patient, which will drive us toward more personalized treatment."
