Scientists Identify Key to Stopping Cancer Recurrence [Video]

Scientists have discovered that polyploid giant cancer cells, which are monstrously oversized and contain multiple nuclei, may be responsible for disease recurrence after cancer therapy.

Researchers at MUSC Hollings Cancer Center have made a breakthrough that may reveal why cancer sometimes returns in patients who have received chemotherapy or radiotherapy.

Both forms of therapy aim to stress cancer cells into self-destruction. However, these treatments often lack long-term effectiveness because cancer cells can adapt to the stress, escape, and enable the tumor to rebound after a a short time.

Recently, scientists have begun to look at the role of polyploid giant cancer cells, or PGCCs, in cancer recurrence. Although these cells have been known to scientists since the invention of the microscope and have been observed by pathologists in cancerous tissues, their exact function in cancer recurrence remained unknown.

In a recent article in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, a MUSC Hollings Cancer Center research team led by Christina Voelkel-Johnson, Ph.D., reports …