BioCentury
ARTICLE | Cover Story

Metastasis, Interrupted

April 10, 2008 7:00 AM UTC

Two studies have clarified the roles of two different proteins in metastasis, suggesting potential new therapeutic strategies to treat cancer. One study proposes agonizing the membrane protein CD151 to prevent cancer cells from mobilizing at primary tumors;1 the other suggests turning off special AT-rich sequence binding protein 1 (SATB1), a regulatory master switch that promotes cancer cell invasiveness and metastasis.2

Company researchers contacted by SciBX agreed that both papers uncovered important molecular mechanisms that drive metastasis, but they were less certain that CD151 and SATB1 are druggable targets. Druggability concerns aside, the companies suggested it might be easier to demonstrate outcomes in the clinic by targeting SATB1 rather than CD151...