Therapeutic Factors for the Mitigation of Cancer Metastasis

Background

Metastasis of cancer cells (i.e. their ability to spread from the primary site of a tumor to other parts of the body) is the greatest cause of lethality from tumors.  In order to spread, cancer cells must burrow through the walls of blood vessels so that they can travel in the bloodstream throughout the body.  This process is often easily accomplished because the blood vessels surrounding and infiltrating the tumor are poorly formed during growth.  This makes the vessels thin-walled and leaky, thus facilitating metastasis.  Almost all cancers have the capacity to metastasize and it is often the extent of metastasis that determines the severity of the illness.  For example, if a primary breast tumor is found prior to metastasis, the survival rate at 5 years is 98%.  However, if metastasis has already occurred, survival drops to only 1 or 2 years.  A process that limits the capacity of tumor cells to pass through the walls of blood vessels has the potential to limit cell migration from the primary site, and extend the life of the patient.  A biotherapy targeted towards the broad phenomenon of metastasis could potentially fill a growing market niche and have profound implications in improving treatment across all types of cancer.

Description of the Invention

A leading scientist at Robarts Research Institute (London, Ontario) has identified a novel combination of growth factors that serve as a basis for promoting blood vessel formation, as well as stabilizing compromised vessels.  Stabilization of the blood vessels surrounding and within a primary tumor closes off the route that cancer cells use for metastasizing to other sites in the body.  Preliminary results in mouse models demonstrate the validity of the target and confirm that treatment of primary tumors with the growth factors stabilizes the vasculature and suppresses metastasis.