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Using the ancient evolutionary survival mechanism, cancer cells enter a slow, slow-dividing state to survive the harsh environment caused by chemotherapy or other targeted drugs.
In a study published in Cell on January 7, 2020, Princess Margaret scientist Dr. Catherine O'Brien and his team found that when threatened, all cancer cells (not just a subset) have transition to This ability to protect the state, in this state, cells "rest" until the threat or chemotherapy is eliminated.
This is the first study to identify cancer cells hijacking evolutionary conservative procedures to survive chemotherapy. In addition, researchers have shown that new treatment strategies for cancer cells in this slow-dividing state can prevent cancer from regenerating.
Dr. O'Brien said: "The tumor is like a whole organism, which can enter a slow division state, saving energy to help it survive." Toronto.
"There are examples of animals entering a state of reversible and slow division to withstand harsh environments.
"It seems that cancer cells have cleverly chosen the same state in order to survive."
Dr. Aaron Schimmer, research director and senior scientist at the Princess Margaret Cancer Center, pointed out that this study shows that cancer cells hibernate like a "winter bear".
He added: “We never really knew that cancer cells are like hibernating bears. This study also tells us how to target these sleeping bears so that they don’t hibernate and wake up and then come back unexpectedly.
"I think this will become an important cause of resistance and will explain some things that we didn't understand well before."
The researchers used human colorectal cancer cells and chemically treated them in a petri dish in the laboratory.