“It changes how collagens are organized to support cancer cells that escape from the tumor and go to other places like the lungs.” Read:What happens to the brain on prescription steroids? “Collagen XII appears to alter the properties of the tumor and make it more aggressive,” said lead author Michael Papanicolaou, of Garvan. They found that as the tumors developed, many matrix molecules changed, and most importantly, the level of collagen XII was also increased. The researchers studied tumors in mouse models from the earliest preclinical stages of cancer to late-stage tumors. Collagen XII plays an important role in organizing other collagens and can have profound effects on the 3D structure of the extracellular matrix. The team focused on collagen XII, one of 28 types of collagen in the body. In this study, the researchers cataloged how the tumor matrix changes over time and generated a comprehensive database of these changes, which was made freely available to researchers. This matrix provides structural and functional support to cells and tissues in all parts of the body. The extracellular matrix or ‘matrix’ is a 3D network of approximately 300-400 core molecules, including various collagen proteins. The study is published in the journal nature communication. Read:Why cancers in adults under 50 are rising globally In addition, collagen XII could be a potential target for future treatments. The research also suggests that measuring the level of collagen XII in a patient’s tumor biopsy could potentially be used as an additional screening tool to identify aggressive breast cancers with higher metastases, such as in the triple-negative type of breast cancer. By studying the soil - the extracellular matrix - we can begin to understand what makes some tumors more aggressive than others, and by extension begin to develop new ways developing to treat cancer,” he says. “Imagine cancer cells as seeds and the tumor microenvironment as the soil. Thomas Cox, senior study author and associate professor, Garvan Institute of Medical Research
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