The cancer cells encourage a process known as apoptosis, or cell death,’ in the surrounding cells.

Finding may explain why cancer causes organ failure

Stopping tumour cells from killing surrounding healthy tissue could help to fight cancer, according to new research.

In the study funded by Cancer Research UK, researchers found that as tumours get bigger, they kill off the surrounding cells, making space in which to grow.

Although the study was carried out using fruit flies, the finding suggests that drugs to prevent, rather than encourage cell death may be more effective at fighting cancer.

Study leader Dr Eugenia Piddini believes the finding may answer one of the longstanding questions about the disease.

“We know that as cancer spreads through the body – or ‘metastasises’ – it can cause organ failure,” she says. “Our finding suggests a possible explanation for this: if the tumour kills surrounding cells, there will come a point where there are no longer enough healthy cells for the organ to continue to function.”

The cancer cells encourage a process known as apoptosis, or cell death,’ in the surrounding cells. However, it is not yet clear how this happens, and will be the subject of further research.

By manipulating genetic variants within the surrounding cells to resist apoptosis, the researchers were able to contain the tumour and prevent its spread.

“It sounds counterintuitive not to encourage cell death as this means you’re not attacking the tumour itself,” says Dr Piddini. “But if we think of it like an army fighting a titan, it makes sense that if you protect your soldiers and stop them dying, you stand a better chance of containing – and even killing – your enemy.”

The researchers used fruit flies because they are much simpler organisms to study than mammals. However, many of the genes being studied are conserved across species. In other words, the genes, or genes with an identical or very similar function, are found in both the fruit fly and mammals.

Dr Alan Worsley, senior science information officer at Cancer Research UK, said: “Tumours often need to elbow healthy cells out of the way in order to grow. This intriguing study in fruit flies suggests that if researchers can turn off the signals that tell healthy cells to die, they could act as a barrier that boxes cancer cells in and stunts their growth.

"We don’t yet know if the same thing would work in patients, but it highlights an ingenious new approach that could help to keep early stage cancers in check.”

The study, Cell competition rives the growth of intestinal adenomas in Drosophila, is published in Current Biology.