When blood cancer starts to spread
When blood cancer cells break through the bone and multiply, tumor cells become dangerously diverse and the immune response in the region changes, researchers from Berlin and Heidelberg report in “Science Immunology.” The detailed insights into cancer progression could advance diagnostics and treatment.
Multiple myeloma, a type of bone marrow cancer, can stay hidden for decades. In advanced stages, it creates lesions that can destroy bones and the cancer cells move to other parts of the body.
A research team led by Simon Haas (PHURI) at the Berlin Institute of Health (BIH) at Charité - Universitátsmedizin Berlin and the Max Delbruck Centre used single-cell analysis and spatial omics to track what happens when the tumor cells first break through the bone: They become dangerously diverse and the immune response in the region also changes, the researchers from Berlin and Heidelberg report in Science Immunology.
Understanding how multiple myeloma starts to spread is key to developing better therapies. The results could influence sample collection for diagnosis to allow a more precise assessment of the disease and a possible adjustment of therapy.
This study was a collaboration between the BIH at Charité, Queen Mary University London (PHURI), Myeloma Center at University Hospital Heidelberg | Clinic for Hematology, Oncology, Rheumatology - Medical Clinic , Heidelberg University and the DFKZ German Cancer Research Centre, together with other national and international partners.
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