Evolutionary pattern of cancer cells

The metastasis of cancer cells may be due to awakening dormant transcription factors related to embryonic development in the body.

Generally speaking, the metastasis of cancer cells can be divided into several stages:

The first stage is called invasion. At this stage, the epithelial cells of cancer cells will loosen the connection between cancer cells, allowing cancer cells to "regain their freedom" and move to other places.

The second stage is called infiltration, in which cancer cells enter the circulatory system through the endothelium of blood vessels or lymphatic vessels.

The third stage is called extravasation. At this stage, survivors baptized by the circulatory system will pass through the endothelial cells of microvessels and reach other tissues.

The final stage is that these cancer cells migrate to the new world, thrive in other tissues and form metastatic malignant tumors.

Common cancer cell metastases are as follows:

Lymphatic metastasis-common in all kinds of cancers, cancer cells invade lymphatic vessels and first reach local lymph nodes with lymph, and then continue to develop, and can be transferred to adjacent or distant lymph nodes. For example, breast cancer first metastasizes to the ipsilateral axillary lymph nodes, then it can metastasize to the subclavian and supraclavicular lymph nodes, and even to the contralateral axillary lymph nodes.

Blood metastasis-common in all kinds of sarcomas, endocrine cancers and undifferentiated cancers, tumor cells that directly invade blood vessels or enter blood vessels through lymphatic vessels reach other parts with the blood flow. The most common metastatic sites are lung, brain, liver and bone. Gastrointestinal cancer often metastasizes to liver and lung, breast cancer, renal cancer and osteosarcoma often metastasizes to lung, lung cancer easily metastasizes to brain, and prostate cancer easily metastasizes to bone.

Implantation metastasis-tumor cells fall off the tumor surface and grow in the chest cavity, abdominal cavity, cerebrospinal fluid and other parts. , often planted in the lower part of these cavities, such as costal diaphragm angle, rectal bladder fossa, skull base, etc., due to gravity. Scientists at Karolinska Medical College in Sweden found that a compound can make glioblastoma, the most threatening brain tumor, explode itself, which was confirmed by mouse experiments. This discovery is considered to have opened a brand-new cancer treatment mechanism and provided ideas for the treatment of other types of cancer. Related research results were published in the journal Cell.

Glioblastoma is a kind of brain malignant tumor because of its rapid growth and short course of disease. The average survival time of patients is only 15 months, and surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy are the main methods, but the curative effect is not satisfactory. Therefore, it is urgent to find a better treatment.

According to the Physicist Organization Network, in order to achieve this goal, researchers at Karolinska Medical College exposed glioblastoma cells to more than 200 molecules for testing. After careful screening and experiments, this compound named vac quilor- 1 was finally found.

The researchers found that this compound can lead to uncontrolled cavitation of cancer cells: cancer cells will continue to bring foreign substances into the cells, eventually leading to cell membrane rupture and cancer cell necrosis. Further research shows that this transport process is completed by the intracellular vesicle system, which is very similar to the results of the 20 13 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Three scientists won the prize for discovering the regulation mechanism of vesicle transport, the main transport system in cells. Cancer is rampant, often restless, and quickly spreads to other organs, which is related to the growth mode of cancer and the characteristics of cancer cells. The reasons can be summarized as follows:

First, cancer cells proliferate rapidly. Due to the rapid increase in the number, the original space can not accommodate so many cells, and the cells at the edge of the tumor are squeezed into the surrounding tissues.

Secondly, due to the particularity of chemical composition and structure on the surface of cancer cells, the adhesion between cancer cells is low, the connection is loose, and it is easy to separate from cancer blocks, which creates conditions for diffusion.

Third, cancer cells secrete special substances, which dissolve and destroy surrounding tissues and open channels for diffusion and metastasis.

Fourth, cancer cells contain special substances that can promote thrombosis, so that cancer cells can adhere to the wall of blood vessels or other parts, and continue to grow after entering blood vessels, laying the foundation for blood transfer.