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The lung cancer cells produce a compound that helps the spread of the tumor to other parts of the body, according to a finding that could develop new ways to prevent metastasis, researchers reported on Wednesday.


The team identified a protein that "elements versicanos" of the immune system creates inflammation, which can stimulate the growth and spread of lung cancer.

Michael Karin, de la University of California en San Diego, y sus colegas hallaron esto en experimentos con ratones, pero dijeron que la proteína se encuentra en bajos niveles en algunas células pulmonares humanas normales y en otros tejidos.


The versicano is generated in large amounts by cells in the lung cancer, especially when it comes to aggressive tumors, the authors reported in the journal Nature.

Cancer is much more dangerous and difficult to treat when it expands from the original, in this case the lungs to other parts of the body. That process is called metastasis.


The investigators indicated that the results could lead to the development of new treatments to reduce the metastasis of lung cancer, perhaps by blocking the secretion of the protein involved in tumor cells.

The study showed that generates versicano production of immune system proteins called cytokines that cause inflammation, which stimulates the growth and spread of cancer.


"Our research shows that versicano, which is produced by cancer cells, induced an inflammatory response and that this process encourages the metastasis," said Sunhwa Kim, one of the authors.

"This just tells us that versicano block the inflammatory response or we can reduce the incidence of metastasis. However, it is not so easy," he added.


One difficulty is the complexity of the immune system.

Kim, who previously worked in the lab and is now Karin Johnson & Johnson, said the findings are a good start to study the problem in humans focused on this protein.


Worldwide, lung tumors are the leading cause of cancer death in men and second among women. Die annually around 376,000 men and 975,000 women, according to the American Cancer Society.

Caca year detected nearly 1.5 million new cases of lung cancer.