“In the new study, Cambridge scientists discovered not just a new mechanism for metastasis, but completely recontextualized its role. It’s long been thought that metastasis was an abnormal process that arises in cancer, but the new study found that it’s a process used by healthy cells as well – cancer just hijacks it for its own purposes.”

“These findings are among the most important to have come out of my lab for three decades,” said Professor Richard Gilbertson, Group Leader of the study. “Not only have we identified one of the elusive drivers of metastasis, but we have also turned a commonly held understanding of this on its head, showing how cancer hijacks processes in healthy cells for its own gains. If validated through further research, this could have far-reaching implications for how we prevent cancer from spreading and allow us to manipulate this process to repair damaged organs.”

The team now plans to investigate ways to take advantage of this discovery to prevent metastasis, including repurposing existing drugs.”