Protein Governs Spread of Prostate Cancer
It's not usually prostate cancer itself that kills — it's the spread of the
cancer from the prostate to the rest of the body. But relatively little is
known about exactly what makes some men's cancers spread, or metastasize, while
other tumors stay put. A new study by scientists at the University of Michigan
Comprehensive Cancer Center has revealed one crucial key to that deadly process.
 Zheng Fu and Evan Keller
Photo: D.C. Goings |
The U-M team found that a protein called RKIP, for Raf kinase inhibitor protein,
governs the ability of prostate cancer cells to leave their original location
and enter nearby blood vessels, which then act as superhighways to the rest
of the body.
The findings show that RKIP is vital to a process called vascular invasion,
which is the first step in a cascade of events leading to metastasis. Tumors
that produce a normal amount of RKIP appear unable to make the jump to the
vascular system, reports Evan Keller, D.V.M., Ph.D., an associate professor
of comparative medicine and of pathology in the U-M Medical School, who led
the research study. But if a tumor cell lacks RKIP, metastasis can take place.
Keller notes that vascular invasion is not the only action required for cancer
to spread. "Many cancer cells that enter the bloodstream don't go on to form
successful metastases," he says. Keller predicts that the U-M discovery will
help scientists and clinicians better understand the complex process by which
some cancers kill.
The study was funded by the Stuart and Barbara Padnos Endowed Research Fund,
the Association for the Cure of Cancer of the Prostate, the Department of Defense
and the National Cancer Institute through the U-M's SPORE (Specialized Program
in Research Excellence) grant for prostate cancer research. U-M research collaborators
included Zheng Fu (Ph.D. 2002), U-M postdoctoral researcher; Rodney L. Dunn,
a U-M research associate; and Zhi Yao, a U-M visiting professor.
-KG
Read an expanded version of the story:
www.med.umich.edu/opm/newspage/2003/prostateprotein.htm
Find more information on prostate cancer:
www.med.umich.edu/1libr/aha/aha_metprost_crs.htm
www.cancer.med.umich.edu/learn/pwprostate.htm
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