Our research into cancer spread - metastasis
One of the biggest challenges in successfully treating cancer is preventing it from spreading around the body, and keeping cancer that has already spread at bay. Most cancer deaths are caused when cancer cells travel to new sites within the body and grow as secondary tumours.
This process - called ‘metastasis’ - is extremely complex and highly challenging to study in the lab. However, Cancer Research UK scientists are using a variety of novel, exciting ways to explore cancer spread and probe the molecules involved.
This work is significantly improving researchers’ understanding of metastasis. And it’s revealing opportunities to develop new treatments designed to stop cancer in its tracks.
Below are some of the highlights of our metastasis research portfolio.
Breast cancer
Dr Fedor Berditchevski
School of Cancer Sciences
University of Birmingham, Birmingham
Understanding the molecules involved in breast cancer spread
Dr Fedor Berditchevski works at the School of Cancer Sciences at the University of Birmingham. He is studying how breast cancer cells break away from a tumour and start to spread around the body – a process called metastasis. His work is helping us to understand how cancer spreads, which could lead to more effective treatments in the future.
Professor Peter Croucher
Academic Unit of Bone Biology
University of Sheffield Medical School
University of Sheffield, Sheffield
Understanding why cancer spreads to the bones
Professor Peter Croucher is a respected expert in bone research, based at the University of Sheffield. He and his team are investigating how some cancers spread into the bones. This is common in breast and prostate cancers, and once it happens, the disease becomes difficult to treat successfully. Understanding why tumours spread and how to stop them is vital to help beat cancer.
Lung cancer
Dr Fergus Macbeth
Velindre Hospital
Velindre NHS Trust, Cardiff
Reducing blood clots in lung cancer patients
Dr Fergus Macbeth is an expert in lung cancer research and works at the Velindre Hospital in Cardiff. He is co-ordinating a clinical trial called FRAGMATIC, investigating whether the blood thinning drug Dalteparin (also called Fragmin) can reduce the number of blood clots in people with lung cancer. Blood clots are common in people with the disease and can also be a side effect of treatment. They can be very serious if they start to move through the body so it is important to find ways of preventing them.
No specific cancer type
Prof Margaret Frame
Cell Adhesion Signalling Laboratory
University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh
How do cancer cells spread - and how can we stop them?
Professor Margaret Frame and her team at University of Edinburgh are tackling one of the biggest challenges in cancer treatment - how to stop the disease spreading to other parts of the body. The researchers are investigating how cancer cells break away from a tumour and start moving, to find out how this process could be stopped.
Prof Ian Hart
Tumour Biology Laboratory
Barts and The London School of Medicine & Dentistry, London
Tackling cancer spread
Professor Ian Hart at Bart's and the London School of Medicine & Dentistry is studying how cancer cells spread around the body - a process called metastasis. Metastases or secondary tumours form when cancer cells spread to new sites and are the cause of most deaths from cancer. Understanding this process is critical if we are to develop more effective cancer treatments.
Dr Nancy Hogg
Leukocyte adhesion laboratory
London Research Institute, London
How do cancers spread?
One of the things that makes cancer so difficult to treat is that it can spread to other parts of the body - this process is called metastasis. Dr Nancy Hogg and her team at our London Research Institute are studying metastasis using white blood cells, which are part of the immune system.
Prof Chris Marshall
Cancer Research UK Centre for Cell and Molecular Biology
The Institute of Cancer Research, London
How do cancer cells grow and spread?
Professor Chris Marshall is the Director of the Cancer Research UK Centre for Cell and Molecular Biology, which is at the forefront of UK research into the molecular causes of cancer. Professor Marshall leads the Oncogene Team, which is studying the communication pathways within cancer cells that determine how they behave. Central to his research are two groups of related proteins called 'Ras' and 'Rho'.
Dr Erik Sahai
Tumour Cell Biology Laboratory
Cancer Research UK London Research Institute, London
Uncovering the secrets of cancer spread
Dr Erik Sahai is a dynamic young researcher who heads the Tumour Cell Biology Lab at our Cancer Research UK London Research Institute. He is an expert in how cancer spreads, also known as metastasis. Most deaths from cancer are caused by the disease spreading, so understanding the process is vital. Dr Sahai's groundbreaking research will open new doors to finding ways to stop cancer in its tracks and improve survival for patients.
Dr Michael Way
Cell Motility Laboratory
Cancer Research UK London Research Institute, London
Understanding cancer spread: how do cells move?
Dr Michael Way is based at our London Research Institute. He is studying how cells move, to understand how cancer spreads. His work could help develop new treatments to combat this process in the future.
Pancreatic cancer
Prof Jeff Evans
Translational Cancer Therapeutics
Beatson Institute for Cancer Research, Glasgow
Stopping pancreatic cancer from spreading
Professor Jeff Evans is based at Cancer Research UK's Beatson Institute in Glasgow, where he is Professor of Translational Cancer Research. He is investigating drugs that could stop pancreatic cancer from spreading, a major problem in this disease.
Prostate cancer
Professor Peter Croucher
Academic Unit of Bone Biology
University of Sheffield Medical School
University of Sheffield, Sheffield
Understanding why cancer spreads to the bones
Professor Peter Croucher is a respected expert in bone research, based at the University of Sheffield. He and his team are investigating how some cancers spread into the bones. This is common in breast and prostate cancers, and once it happens, the disease becomes difficult to treat successfully. Understanding why tumours spread and how to stop them is vital to help beat cancer.
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