Seminari VHIR - Dr. Salvador Aznar Benitah "Metastasis-initiating cells: why what we eat matters"

Dr. Salvador Aznar Benitah, Group Leader at the Stem Cells and Cancer Group (IRB Barcelona)
Metastasis is the first cause of cancer-related deaths.Using oral cell carcinoma samples, we have identified for the first time the cells responsible for the development of metastasis.These cells have several intriguing characteristics, among which there is the fact that they express very high levels of the lipid receptor CD36. This makes these cells exquisitely sensitive to the levels of fat in the circulation, which relates the predisposition of oral squamous cell carcinomas to metastasis directly to the fat content present in the diet.
Interestingly, this may be the case for several other types of tumours including melanoma, ovarian, colorectal, breast and lung carcinoma, among others. Based on these results, we now intend to test the possible antimetastatic benefit of a diet with a low content of saturated fatty acids in patients who suffer from advanced oral cancer.
Host: CIBBIM-Nanomedicine. New Technologies and Craniofacial Microsurgery