Gene linked to prostate cancer spread

DALLAS, Feb. 4 (UPI) -- Prostate cancer cells are more likely to spread to other parts of the body if a specific gene quits functioning normally, U.S. researchers say.

Researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas studied mice and found prostate cancer cells can be held in check by the DAB2IP gene, which produces the DABIP protein. Cells without the DAB2IP protein easily broke free to spread throughout the body.

The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, also found eliminating the DAB2IP protein in human carcinoma cells caused them to change from epithelial cells to mesenchymal cells -- a hallmark of metastatic cancer.

"Cells undergoing an epithelial to mesenchymal transition experience biological changes that enable them to move freely and spontaneously throughout the body," Dr. Jer-Tsong Hsieh, the study's senior author, said in a statement. "By restoring DAB2IP function in cancer cells in mice, we reversed their ability to change and metastasize."

Hsieh and colleagues suggest identifying the DAB2IP protein in human cells might serve as a biomarker that helps physicians identify patients with more aggressive, metastatic forms of prostate cancer. Also, greater understanding of DAB2IP function could help provide new treatments.