A shield of sugars capable of damaging the tumor and hindering its growth. It is formed by some cells, hitherto unidentified, unable to grow and multiply within the tumor mass but which absorb a high amount of glucose. Yes, the demonized sugar that emerges from this research for the first time with a new defensive role for tumors, which adds to its function, fuel to accelerate tumor growth, already discovered in the past. The research, published by the prestigious journal Nature Communications, is the result of an international project resulting from the collaboration of the Irccs Center in Candiolo which was able to carry out the research thanks to the 5×1000 from the Piedmontese Foundation for Cancer Research (FPRC).
Cancers, a “sugar shield” protects them from the immune system
by Mara Magistroni
The double game of glucose
But hasn’t it always been said that sugar promotes the proliferation of cancer cells? Indeed, high glucose consumption has always been considered one of the hallmarks of more aggressive cancer cells. Glucose, the simplest form of sugar and the primary source of energy for the body’s cells, is closely linked to tumor proliferation and therapeutic resistance. For decades, researchers around the world have focused on the most active cancer cells, believed to be responsible for the spread of cancer thanks to the rapid metabolism of glucose. “It is known that glucose metabolism allows cancer cells to grow and proliferate,” he says sebastian charles, formerly head of the laboratory of Metabolic Dynamics of Cancer of the IRCCS in Candiolo and now in force at the University of Barcelona. “Our work has discovered a new role for glucose in the defense mechanism in tumors, as a weapon to protect against free radicals, molecules that damage cells and hinder the growth of cancer.”
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The shield function
The research, which was conducted by the Candiolo Institute in collaboration with the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center at Harvard, headed Raul Mostolavsky, co-director of the Mass General Cancer Center in Boston, has shown that colorectal cancer uses certain cells that form a sugar shield to protect itself from free radicals, which damage the tumor and hinder its growth. “In particular, the research – continues Sebastian – has identified a new type of defense cells to protect the tumor. These are non-proliferating cells, that is, unable to grow and multiply within the tumor, but characterized by a high absorption of glucose. Unexpectedly, in these cells the sugar is not converted into energy, as the main consumers of glucose in colon cancer, but used to neutralize free radicals that could damage the structure of the cell, compromising its survival “.
Towards new possible therapies
Colorectal cancer is the second most widespread form of cancer in Italy and Europe, with 43,700 new cases diagnosed in 2020 in our country (11.6% of all cancers), after breast cancer. Based on data from the Istituto Superiore di Sanità (AIRTUM 2020), it is estimated that one out of every 12 men and one out of every 19 women will develop colorectal cancer in their lifetime. “Defining the specific role of this new less active cell type in the tumor could pave the way for new and more effective anti-tumor therapies also combined with traditional drugs capable of extirpating not only the cells in progress, but also the ‘ reservoirs of quiescent tumor cells, often responsible for the development of recurrent tumor forms and for the generation of neoplasms resistant to traditional treatments, such as chemo and radiotherapy “, declares Anna Sabino, scientific director and chief physician of the Pathological Anatomy of Irccs Candiolo. “Although these studies were conducted on experimental models on tumor cells pre-shrunk from tumors removed from patients, and, therefore, we must be cautious – said Sapino – the results are potentially able to inspire new, more specific and effective therapies for this type of cancer. . A new molecule capable of nullifying the tumor’s defenses is being studied “.