The identification of five genes involved in the metastasis of breast to lung tumors is the main finding of a team of scientists from two entities of the University of Navarra, the research center Médica Aplicada (CIMA) and the Clínica Universitaria de Navarra. Dr. Alfonso Calvo, researcher of the area of Oncology of the CIMA, has directed the work with the special partnership of Dr. Ignacio Gil Bazo, oncologist of the University Clinic, and experts from U.S. cancer centers such as Georgetown University and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The study constitutes a significant part of Raúl Catena's doctoral thesis and has counted with the participation of Oscar González, both researchers at CIMA.

For this research, recently published in the scientific journal Oncogene, a transgenic mouse model was used, which has an increased tendency to development metastasis. "The increase of the so-called Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) in their mammary glands caused profound changes in the tumor structure, which allowed the malignant cells to leave the tumor and invade the lungs. Finally, the patron saint genes manager of this tumor migration to the lung were analyzed and compared with those of women with breast tumors with pulmonary metastatic involvement. It was found that five of these genes were common to the animal model and to patients with breast tumors," explains Dr. Calvo.

Pathway to more effective treatments

The researcher of the CIMA of the University of Navarra adds that, "of the five genes identified, the Tenascin-C gene appears to be a good therapeutic target for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer, according to the results of this study. In fact, blocking the expression of this gene in the animal model allowed a significant reduction in both tumor growth and the incidence of lung metastasis."

This new finding in the complex web of the process of tumor metastasis provides data keys to the knowledge of cancer and its dissemination, while "identifying new targets against which drugs can be designed to contribute to a more effective treatment of this disease," adds Dr. Gil Bazo, an oncologist at the University Clinic.