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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)