Most cancers Cells Reprogrammed by Capillary Constriction

Future remedy paths

Prof. Kilian says the findings increase new concepts about potential remedy choices geared toward stopping most cancers spreading from tumors.

“These results open up new possibilities for prognosis and treatment, by targeting the mechanical forces that lead to metastasis,” he says.

“We could then look at the cancer cells found in a patient’s blood stream to study their susceptibility to this sort of transformation which could help us assess the risk of metastasis for that individual.

“Or we could use MRI or other imaging techniques to identify regions with high densities of microvessels to monitor for metastasis, possibly even intervening to make it much harder for the cells to get to these small capillaries.

“The point is, it used to be thought that it was just this extremely rare type of cell that found its way from a primary tumor to a spot where they could invade. But no, in some cases it’s actually the squeezing that changes the cell into this rare type, and it could put cancer researchers in a much stronger position to devise new treatment strategies.”

Next steps

Prof. Kilian says about 90% of the work for this challenge was on melanoma most cancers cells, and he’s hopeful the identical conclusions can be drawn when researchers have a look at the squeezing impact on free-floating cells from different most cancers tumors.

“I believe we’ll find evidence that many solid tumors metastasise this way – for instance, we’re already seeing compelling evidence when we repeat these experiments with breast cancer – and I’m looking forward to testing a range of cancer cell types in the lab,” he says.

“But I’m glad we began our study with melanoma cells, since skin cancer has such high mortality rates in Australia when it spreads to other organs. It’s vitally important that we gain a better understanding of melanoma metastasis, to better treat those suffering from this deadly disease.”

For her half, Dr Silvani is eager to do extra work in microfluidics to emulate how most cancers spreads by way of the physique.

“Watching this idea grow from a spark of intuition into a real discovery has been deeply inspiring,” she says.

“It’s a powerful reminder of what can be achieved when engineering and biology come together. Cells are intricate machines, and unravelling their mysteries requires precise design and innovative tools, guided by the insights biology provides.”

Reference: Silvani G, Kopecky C, Romanazzo S, et al. Capillary constrictions prime most cancers cell tumorigenicity by way of PIEZO1. Nat Commun. 2025;16(1):8160. doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-63374-6

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