Fat molecule directs melanoma to spread

Cancer Research UK scientists have shown that a fat molecule found in the body directs the most serious type of skin cancer to spread, according to research published in PLOS Biology . The team at the Cancer Research UK Beatson Institute at the University of Glasgow, revealed that melanoma cells give themselves the 'green light' to move using a naturally-occurring fat molecule, called lysophosphatidic acid (LPA). The signal prompts them to travel and spread in the body. They showed in cancer cell lines and mice that tumour cells first break down a nearby source of LPA molecules. Once nearby levels of LPA are depleted the cells then move out of the tumour in search of more - using a 'breadcrumb trail' leading to the bloodstream and then to a new site in the body. Unlike other cancers, where cells stick tightly to their neighbours, the structure of melanoma cells means they are primed to spread from the start. Once they have taken the directions given by LPA they start spreading.