Stanford metastasises research

Stanford University is licensing research to Ruga which has shown potential to stop the metastasis of cancer. The therapy is able to prevent cancer cells from breaking away from the initial tumour and grow elsewhere.

The therapy could replace chemotherapy, but although promising results have been achieved so far the therapy has only been tested in mice. Ruga expects further clinical trials in other animals to last several more years before clinical trials in humans can be launched and the therapy brought to market.

Stanford’s discovery is based around preventing interaction between two proteins, Axl and Gas6. Jennifer Cochran, who oversaw the research, describes Axl as a “molecular antenna” which receives signals from Gas6. When Axl and two Gas6 molecules interact, cancer cells break away from the original tumour. Stanford’s researchers used this fact to create a decoy version of Axl, which can bind with Gas6 molecules but is unable to then send any signals telling cells to break off – effectively preventing metastasis.

Ray Tabibiazar, chief executive at Ruga, said: “Most patients, when they come in at an advanced-disease stage, have metastatic disease and there are no real drugs out there that can help them. This is probably one of the first drugs that seems to be targeting that specific process.”