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Irish scientists have found new ways to treat cancer
Last reviewed: 01.07.2025
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Irish scientists from Queen's University Belfast have found a new way to treat laryngeal and cervical cancer. Specialists from the Queen's Centre for Cancer Research and Cell Biology have found out that healthy tissues surrounding cancerous tumours play a very important role in fighting the disease.
"Cancer spreads as a result of two-way communication between cancer cells in a tumour and healthy cells in the surrounding tissue," explained Professor Dennis McCance, who led the team. "We already know that cancer cells are programmed internally to invade nearby healthy tissue. But cells in the surrounding tissue also send messages that actively encourage cancer cells to invade. If these messages to the infected tissue can be blocked, the spread of cancer will be slowed."
"What we have discovered is a protein in non-cancerous tissue that can either open or close the connection between healthy tissue and the tumour. When the retinoblastoma protein /Rb/ is activated, the spread of cancer cells slows down," the scientist said. Irish researchers have for the first time managed to prove that the Rb protein is found not only in cancer cells, but also in healthy cells, and that it directly affects the rate of disease development. They have identified this dependence using special equipment that allows them to see the development of the reaction in three dimensions.
Speaking about the possible implications of this discovery for cancer treatment, Professor McCance said: "Current treatments for the disease focus on the tumour itself, to kill cancer cells before they spread. Our discovery could lead to entirely new cancer treatments, as the targeting of healthy cells could be mobilised to resist and actively prevent the progression of the disease."
"The studies were conducted on cancer cells of the larynx and cervix, but it is quite possible that the Rb protein is present in all healthy tissues surrounding cancerous tumors and plays a similar role in the spread of the disease. This is what we plan to study in the course of our further work," the scientist shared.
The study was funded by the UK's largest charity, the Wellcome Trust, the Cancer Research Centre and the US National Institutes of Health. The full report was published in the journal European Molecular Biology.
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