
Enzyme behind cancer spread found - nickb
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7813072.stm
======
streety
The NHS choices site gives a good write-up of this although they skim over a
couple of points.

[http://www.nhs.uk/news/2009/03March/Pages/Studyfindscancersp...](http://www.nhs.uk/news/2009/03March/Pages/Studyfindscancerspreadenzyme.aspx)

One concern I have is that the primary tumor is weakened by the low LOX
expression and it is this, rather than its ability to prime remote sites for
metastasis, which leads to reduced metastasis. Although this may be partially
the case they also inject conditioned media into mice and show that media from
wild type tumor cells recruits CD11b+ cells to the lungs consistent with
priming sites for metastasis. Media from tumor cells in which LOX expression
has been down-regulated or wild-type media with an anti-LOX antibody did not
have this effect. They also found cell recruitment with purified LOX although
their results suggest there is something else in conditioned media which can
increase this effect.

I would like to see them repeat this with tumor cells in which the LOX gene
can be turned off once the tumor is established but overall I felt this was a
strong piece of work.

------
aneesh
> "metastasis ... is known to be responsible for 90% of cancer-related
> deaths."

It's important not to misinterpret that fact and conclude that preventing
metastasis will reduce cancer deaths by 90%.

------
streety
This story may relate to the following article: [http://www.cell.com/cancer-
cell/retrieve/pii/S15356108080037...](http://www.cell.com/cancer-
cell/retrieve/pii/S1535610808003784)

Sadly it isn't freely available.

~~~
Shamiq
Let me know if you'd like a pdf of this (see email).

~~~
anewaccountname
If pg doesn't delete your comment, isn't he guilty of the same thing as The
Pirate Bay are being charged with? (actually I guess he is protected in the US
unless he gets a DMCA notice?)

~~~
rms
Most scientists really don't care about the copyright on their journal papers
being violated. They would prefer them to be read as widely as possible. It's
only the journal publishers that try and protect the content. Sometimes you
can find papers under journal firewalls on the authors' academic websites.

