Hijacked immune activator promotes growth and spread of colorectal cancer

(German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ)) Through a complex, self-reinforcing feedback mechanism, colorectal cancer cells make room for their own expansion by driving surrounding healthy intestinal cells to death - while simultaneously fueling their own growth. This feedback loop is driven by an activator of the innate immune system. Researchers from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and the University of Heidelberg discovered this mechanism in the intestinal tissue of fruit flies.
Source: EurekAlert! - Biology - Category: Biology Source Type: news