Fight breast cancer with endosialin

• London  : A recent study suggests that targeting a specific blood vessel molecule may help to prevent the deadly spread of breast cancer.

• As per the study, the protein endosialin helps breast tumor cells to escape into the blood stream, reports Daily Mail.

• Detecting endosialin may also provide a biomarker test for high-risk breast cancer.

• Blocking the molecule with a drug could even help to prevent and contain the spread of breast cancer.

• Endosialin is produced by pericytes, large spider-like cells that wrap around blood vessels and support their growth and function.

• Early research showed that removing the protein from genetically engineered mice stopped breast cancer cells migrating into blood vessels.

• A follow-up study of 334 women with breast cancer found that those with higher levels of endosialin were significantly more likely to experience metastasis or cancer spread.

• Professor Clare Isacke said, "Our study sheds valuable light on the role of pericytes, a type of cell that wraps around blood vessels, in helping breast cancer cells escape into the bloodstream and spread round the body."

• "We found that a molecule called endosialin, which is produced on the surface of pericytes, plays a key role in aiding the getaway of cancer cells.

• We believe that endosialin could be a useful marker of how likely a woman's breast cancer is to spread around the body. And it might even be possible to block cancer spread by targeting this molecule with new drugs - something we plan to explore in future studies," she said.

• The study was published in the journal Cancer Research. 

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