University scientists have found that a gene, RhoGDI2, could give scientists the ability to control the growth and metastasis of different cancers.
"The gene may serve as a marker for aggressiveness and the cancer's ability to spread beyond its origin," Urology Prof. Michael Harding said. "It may also serve as a marker for which cells are more invasive or localized."
The study, published in the Nov. 15 issue of "Cancer Research," reports that RhoGDI2, combined with other prognostic tests and biomarkers, might help doctors find the most effective treatment for patients based on the seriousness of the cancer.
The research was a collaborative effort led by Urology and Molecular Physiology Prof. Dan Theodorescu and Pathology Prof. John Gildea, and scientists from the Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation.
The discovery is new in the cancer research field, and Theodorescu hopes it will lead to treating the disease more accurately.
Ultimately, scientists might be able to predict "which tumors are going to spread to other parts of the body," he said. "The gene's function was unclear, and we assigned a major role to it."
This study was the first to link the RhoGDI2 to cancer metastasis.
"Others have found similar genes, but no one knew its function of measuring aggressiveness," Harding said. "RhoGDI2 is a tool to determine the course of treatment, how aggressive the treatment should be."
The studies used bladder cancer cells, which expressed RhoGDI2 and did not have the ability to spread much beyond the bladder, Harding said.
The researchers examined tumors from prostate, lung, breast, colorectal, gastroesophageal, kidney, liver, ovarian and pancreatic cancers as well and found similar results.
The scientists plan to continue exploring the gene's role in cancer growth and metastasis.
Harding said future studies will look at the function of the protein that RhoGDI2 produces, and find out if there is a direct correlation between the protein's function and metastasis.
Also, the scientists do not yet know how RhoGDI2 stops metastasis in cancer cells.
Theodorescu said future studies will involve identifying how this gene works and answering the question of how to use RhoGDI2 in therapy.
The American Cancer Society, who supported the University study, reported that about 1.3 million Americans are expected to be diagnosed with cancer in 2002. Cancer is the second-leading cause of death in America and is expected to cause 555,500 American deaths this year.
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