A common sugar may help cancer cells break free and spread
Researchers at The Wistar Institute discovered that fructose acts as a signaling molecule released by chemotherapy-surviving cancer cells to promote metastasis in ovarian cancer. This finding highlights a new mechanism by which dormant cancer cells contribute to disease recurrence.
Why it matters
Understanding this signaling pathway could lead to new therapeutic strategies to prevent cancer recurrence and metastasis in ovarian cancer patients.
A study from The Wistar Institute has identified a surprising connection between fructose, a widely consumed dietary sugar, and the spread of an aggressive type of ovarian cancer. The findings, published in Nature Aging , suggest that cancer cells that remain after chemotherapy can communicate with nearby tumor cells and make them more likely to spread.
The researchers found that fructose serves as one of the chemical messages released by these treatment-surviving cells. The discovery reveals a previously unknown way that cancer cells left behind after therapy may contribute to metastasis.
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