Stem Cell Regulation and Development of Lung Cancer Are Linked

the Cancer Therapy Advisor take:

Lung cancer accounts for about 29% of cancer deaths in the United States. Brigitte Gomperts, MD, and researchers at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) studied the first stage of lung cancer development. According to the study published in Stem Cell, reactive oxygen species (ROS) regulate the reparative process in the lungs, which is carried out by adult stem cells in lung airways after disease or injury. It is known that low ROS levels are needed to signal stem cells and high ROS levels can kill stem cells, but the UCLA researchers found that the ROS levels for initiating reparation increased and then sharply decreased, which prevents excessive cell growth and division. If the ROS levels do not return to low levels, then the cells will excessively proliferate and become precancerous lesions. This leads to cancerous tumors when the lesions’ cells undergo genetic changes. A variety of factors, such as inflammation, smog, and cigarette smoke, may be able to activate increased ROS levels in airway stem cells, and researchers say this may eventually lead to treatments customized to the patient. The study’s eventual goal is to target the lesions’ biology in order to create a strategy that prevents pre-malignant lesions and lung cancer.