Download NOTA DE PREMSA Dimarts, 2 d`octubre de 2007

PRESS OFFICE
PRESS NOTE
Twenty leading authorities in cancer stem cell research, including
Hans Clevers, John E. Dick, Joan Massagué and Sean J. Morrison,
meet in Barcelona for the first time, invited by IRB Barcelona and the
BBVA Foundation
Stem cells could be a key factor in cancer
02.10.2007.- One day in the not too distant future, stem cells could help
repair diseased tissue and may become a therapeutic tool of excellence to
treat Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, hepatitis and Parkinson’s disease.
However, there is a more pressing reason to study stem cells: some types of
cancer are known to originate from these cells and they may even be the
root cause of all cancers. This is the focus of discussion in the IV Barcelona
BioMed Conference entitled “Stem Cells and Cancer”, held from Monday to
Wednesday and hosted by the Institut d’Estudis Catalans (IEC). This
conference has brought together twenty leading scientists in a field of study
that may revolutionize therapeutic treatments used in the fight against
cancer. The 150 conference attendees are addressing two key issues: firstly,
the similarities between healthy and cancer stem cells and, secondly, how
the latter cell type can be identified and characterized.
The working hypothesis of the scientists is that at the heart of every tumor is
a handful of malignant cells with stem cell properties, referred to as cancer
stem cells, that cause the onset of cancer and its spread. The unlimited
dividing capacity of stem cells ensures constant replenishment of healthy
tissue. However, this same capacity favors tumorigenesis by stem cells that
have undergone cancerous mutations. In addition, cancer stem cells may
show more resistance to chemotherapy, which would account for the
difficulty to completely remove tumors and also the eventual onset of
metastasis. According to Joan Massagué, adjunct director of IRB Barcelona,
member of the IEC and chairman of the Cancer Biology and Genetics
Programme of the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York,
“during metastasis a few cells that escape from the primary tumor have the
capacity to re-initiate tumor growth after invading distant vital organs.
Therefore, we believe that it is during metastasis that the tumor must resort
to its “stem cell” capacity. In fact, we are close to identifying genes that
confer this capacity during breast cancer metastasis”. The researchers at IRB
Barcelona’s Metastasis Laboratory are studying the process of metastasis in
breast and lung cancer. The objective is to identify “stem cell” and other
functions that allow these kinds of tumors to metastasize.
DISCOVERY OF CANCER STEM CELLS
Cancer stem cells were first found in the blood, especially in some kinds of
leukemia, and were subsequently identified in solid tumors such as in the
breast, brain, lung and colon. Hans Clevers and Eduard Batlle, researchers in
cancer stem cells in colorectal cancer at the Hubrecht Laboratory in the
Netherlands and IRB Barcelona respectively, and co-organizers of the
conference, explain that “in less than 5 years remarkable results have been
achieved that indicate that, in certain types of tumor, there is a kind of
hierarchy of cancer cells, the most dangerous being those that acquire “stem
cell” functions. John E. Dick, invited speaker at the BioMed Conference, first
reported these cancer cells in several types of leukemia and has recently
published an article about how to identify cancer stem cells in colon cancer.
A NEW STRATEGY TO FIGHT CANCER
The hypothesis also points towards a new strategy to fight cancer. Current
drugs attack the mass of the tumor and shrink it considerably; however, they
are ineffective against this evasive group of cells. This is explained by the
fact that current pharmaceutical agents used in chemotherapy intervene in
cell division and, while ordinary tumor cells divide rapidly, the “stem” cells
divide more slowly and therefore escape the action of these drugs. However,
to develop or select new drugs it is first necessary to identify cancer stem
cells and above all distinguish them from healthy ones.
For further information, contact the
BBVA Foundation Press Office (+34 91 537 6615 /+34 94 487 4627)