Tumors that generate fake blood vessels increase mortality in patients with cancer
The fight against cancer is a concern and global in Chile, a group of researchers also carries out this mission, discovering and analyzing factors contribute to this evil to be more aggressive in the population. Dr. Gareth Owen, Scientist of the Centre for advanced chronic diseases, ACCDiS , is studying a phenomenon new in the science world: tumors that generate fake blood vessels and whose presence, promotes the metastasis and decreases the survival in patients affected by this pathology.
Watching tumors of patients with gastric cancer, This center professionals discovered that effectively, There was a percentage that was this phenomenon called "mimicking vasculogenic", which resulted in the survival and growth of the lesion malignant and its spread in the body. According to Dr. Owen, close to the "30 to 40% of cancers develop this mechanism", generating a greater aggressiveness and decreasing the survival of those affected.
Studies are pioneers in Chile and Latin America, and the importance of this finding, ensure the scientists, is that a greater understanding of how happens the phenomenon and identify at what stage of disease is generated, It could help develop future therapies to fight cancer and to develop early diagnostic tools. In these advances, the Dr is also collaborating. Alejandro Corvalan, researcher pricipal of ACCDiS and Alejandra Sandoval, PhD in Molecular and applied science, among other young scientists of the Catholic University.
Fake blood vessels
"The classic and well known concept of this disease, It is a cancer cell to proliferate and form a tumor. In this context, We know that there is a process in which blood vessels grow toward the tumor (angiogenesis), facilitating its dissemination in the blood. However, Today we are making sure that there is a prototype of tumors that themselves generate fake glasses. And this happens in different types of cancer", says the researcher of the University Catholic.
The mimicking vasculogenic promotes nutrition and oxygenation of the tumor, providing an ideal environment for growth. This implies that the cancer "has the ability to generate mechanisms to survive, increase and grow", as explained by Alejandra Sandoval.
Facing this scenario, different objectives are proposed in ACCDiS. The first of these, It is to build an in vitro model of study, then, to identify and characterize mechanisms of action of mimicking vasculogenic and finally find one or more biomarkers.
The latter, they are biological indicators or fingerprints - which include genes, proteins and enzymes- whose presence in the body and blood of a person, It can help predict early onset of a disease or phenomenon, as it is in this case, of the gestation of fake glasses.
Dr. Owen explains that currently, along with traditional treatments, There are other complementary, you just enter the country. It's "anti-angiogenic" therapies, It helps to inhibit the formation of real blood vessels. However, This therapy is not effective in all cases, estimated that it could be due to the process of vasculogenic.
Gastric and ovarian cancer: evils of high frequency
The ACCDiS, led by Dr. Sergio Lavandero focuses, mainly, Research of two diseases that affect 60 percent of the Chilean population: cancer and cardiovascular diseases. The entity is made up of 226 researchers from the universities of Chile and Católica de Chile, with the aim of studying the causes of these evils, and design therapies and diagnostic tools, to generate a positive impact on health.
In this context, in ACCDIS they are also exploring the existence of the process of mimicking vasculogenic in previous stages of gastric cancer, When there is almost no way to browse it or your symptoms are not perceived. These developments are of importance to the Center, Since this evil cancer in Chile, It constitutes the first cause of death from malignant tumors in men and women, causing the death of approximately three thousand people a year. Its incidence is the highest in the world, together with Japan, Costa Rica and Singapore.
Studies, that you have also been on cellular and animal model, they have had clinical signs of MAUCO cohort, study epidemiological led by ACCDiS in the city of Molina, where are investigating 10 thousand inhabitants of the area, to know the history natural of them diseases cardiac and cancer, and their associated risk factors (dimensions considered biological aspects, genetic, lifestyles, average environmental, social, etc). "Effectively, We have seen that there is this formation of tubular structures that draw attention to mimicking vasculogenic", says the Dra. Sandoval.
This year they will also study the phenomenon in ovarian cancer, in order to achieve detail its mechanisms and give rise to an international publication. This type of cancer, It is also one of the most frequent in our country and its aggressiveness is high. In fact, only in 2010, 423 deaths were recorded for this cause, which corresponds to a rate of 4,9 per 100 thousand women.
In these evils also expected to analyze whether the MIME would be favoring in early stages of cancer metastasis. As next steps, Alejandra Sandoval also expected to analyze aspects genetic and molecular, and more in the future, support the search for therapeutic targets to inhibit the formation of false vessels. "The dream of all science is curing the cancer". But even if it is something that one is not going to achieve just, If you are able to contribute with a grain of sand. Contribute to the therapeutic part and decrease tumor aggressiveness I am interested".