THE ESSENTIAL
- Sometimes the development of metastatic cancer occurs early in the disease, when the tumor is small and has not been diagnosed.
- The MACC1 gene would promote the proliferation of metastases from 20 tumours, in particular those of stomach, liver and breast cancer.
In France, 382,000 new cancers were diagnosed in 2018, according to Public health France. The same year, again according to this organization, 157,000 people died of it. Often these deaths are not attributed to the primary cancer tumor but to metastases. these are formed by cancer cells from the first tumour. Currently, many scientists are working on how to treat these metastases for, in fine, cure the patients. And research comes ahead of time. According to a study published in the journal Clinical and Translational Medicine, taking statins, drugs normally prescribed to patients with cholesterol, could reduce or even stop the proliferation of these metastases.
The MACC1 gene promotes metastatic development
We speak of metastatic cancer when the cancer initially developed by an individual spreads to another part of his body. For example, if colon cancer metastasizes to the liver, it is metastatic colon cancer, not liver cancer. The teacher Ulrike Stein – who took part in the new study – and her team had previously worked on colon cancer. More than ten years ago, they had discovered that the MACC1 gene favored the metastatic development of this disease. Indeed, according to the researchers, when it is identified in cancer cells, they spread more easily in the body. “Many types of cancers only spread in patients with high MACC1 expression“, explains Ulrike Stein.
Statins suppress tumor formation and metastasis
Since this discovery, they have continued their research in order to find an inhibitor of MACC1, that is to say an element capable of blocking the progression of metastases in the body. After various trials, they finally have an answer: statins. During their experiments, they administered it to mice genetically modified to have a strong presence of the MACC1 gene. Results: The formation of tumors and metastases was virtually suppressed in all these rodents. “What is particularly positive is that it continued in the animals even when we reduced the dose“, continues Ulrike Stein. Thus, according to his team, these drugs against cholesterol stop the action of MACC1 in tumor cells and stop the proliferation of metastases.
Results to be confirmed in humans
In an attempt to assess the impact of statins on humans, researchers analyzed data from more than 300,000 patients who regularly took them. Here too, the observation is very positive: “They only had half the incidence of cancer compared to the general population“, assures Robert Preißner, one of the authors of the study. Nevertheless, this result is not worth scientific proof… And the researchers recall that “we are still at the very beginning. (…) We cannot therefore directly transfer its results” to humans. To this end, clinical trials on humans should be conducted in the future. In the meantime, the researchers advise against taking statins as a preventive measure without talking about it, beforehand, with your doctor.