Cancer Cells Transformed into Harmless Fat in Mouse Study

www.livescience.com ^ | January 15, 2019 07:14am ET | By Rachael Rettner, Senior Writer

[Red Badger]

Imagine if you could turn aggressive cancer cells into harmless fat.

Scientists in Switzerland say they've done just that, in a new study in mice. By taking advantage of the "plasticity," or adaptability, of certain cancer cells during metastasis, the researchers were able to coax breast cancer cells in mice into becoming fat cells.

The scientists accomplished this using a combination of two drugs, both of which are already approved for use in humans by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The treatment didn't convert all of the cancer cells into fat cells, but it did stop the cancer's metastasis, or spread to other parts of the body, the researchers said. [10 Do's and Don'ts to Reduce Your Risk of Cancer]

The work is very preliminary, and it's unclear if the findings will apply to people or to other types of cancers. But because the study used two drugs already approved by the FDA, it "may be possible" that the findings also apply to humans, the researchers wrote in their paper, published today (Jan. 14) in the journal Cancer Cell.

If future studies confirm the new work, the researchers believe that the therapy could be used in combination with conventional chemotherapy "to suppress both primary tumor growth and the formation of deadly metastases," senior study author Gerhard Christofori, a professor at the University of Basel's Department of Biomedicine in Switzerland, said in a statement. Turning cancer into fat

[MHGinTN]

oLOL ... I'm an icecreamaholic. So much so that I have a countertop machine with its own compressor. Only makes 1 1/2 quarts per, but that keeps me from eating 2 quarts in a day. ;*)

[IronJack]

That’s a serious addiction. Makes my Blizzard compulsion look pretty weak.

[Red Badger]

From the link:

Then, the researchers treated the mice with two drugs: rosiglitazone, which is used in people to treat type 2 diabetes, and trametinib, an anti-cancer drug that inhibits the growth and spread of cancer cells. (Rosiglitazone belongs to a class of drugs known as thiazolidinediones, which bind to receptors that are found mainly in fat tissue and that play a role in a number of biological processes, including the formation of mature fat cells, according to a 2005 paper on the topic. People with diabetes are given the drug because the receptors that it binds to also help increase sensitivity to the hormone insulin, which is involved in regulating blood sugar levels.)

[MHGinTN]

At my age, I do not eat ice cream but maybe twice a month now. Keeps me sane ...