Targeting metastasis-initiating cancer cells through the newly discovered fatty acid receptor CD36

For 90 percent of cancer-related deaths, metastasesare responsible. Much research in recent years has sought to discover mechanisms that could prevent metastasis. A study published in December 2016 in Nature suggested that high-fat diets might help cancer spread.

In the research, tissues were obtained from oral cancer patients at different stages, and metastasis-initiating cells’ biomarkers were analyzed.

According to the research results,

• The first fatty acid receptorenabling cancer to migrate to different tissues and organs, CD36, was discovered.
• CD36 is a cell-surface receptor responsible for taking fatty acids into cells. CD36 activity was found elevated in oral, skin, ovarian, intestinal, lung and breast cancers.
• Researchers also added the CD36 receptor to nonmetastatic cancer cells to observe its effect. Cells receiving CD36 acquired metastatic characteristics and began multiplying more aggressively.

What do these results mean clinically?

• The first general biomarker for cancer metastasis may have been discovered. This study may pave the way for antimetastatic treatments targeting fatty acid receptors. In the study conducted for this purpose, when CD36 protein was blocked in mice, cancer cells lost their metastatic characteristics. When CD36-blocking antibodies were administered, metastases were eliminated in % 20 of all mice. Metastatic tumors showed shrinkage of up to %90.
• Tumor cells’ metastatic potential was found to depend in part on the fatty acid receptor CD36.
• This is among the studies that could revolutionize cancer treatment, showing that metastasis-initiating cells also depend on dietary fats to spread.
• This study also helps explain a recent international congress report concerning statin cholesterol-lowering medicines and longer survival among cancer patients taking them. However, the study of this beneficial statin effect has not yet been published. Therefore, cholesterol-lowering statins should not be used by patients other than those with high cholesterol (LDL), or without a physician’s recommendation.