All iLive content is medically reviewed or fact checked to ensure as much factual accuracy as possible.
We have strict sourcing guidelines and only link to reputable media sites, academic research institutions and, whenever possible, medically peer reviewed studies. Note that the numbers in parentheses ([1], [2], etc.) are clickable links to these studies.
If you feel that any of our content is inaccurate, out-of-date, or otherwise questionable, please select it and press Ctrl + Enter.
Scientists have figured out how cancer develops
Last reviewed: 02.07.2025
At the Institute of Cancer Research (London), a team of scientists has discovered the reasons for the growth of tumors; according to them, the tumor can receive additional nutrition from adjacent blood vessels.
The specialists have already published the results of their work in one of the scientific journals.
Malignant tumors usually create a separate blood system that supplies nutrients to cancer cells. Modern cancer therapy is aimed at suppressing tumor growth with antiangiogenic drugs, but a new study has shown that cancer can receive additional nutrition from nearby blood vessels, which is what causes relapses. Scientists have long been unable to understand this process, but the British were able to find out that the tumor simply uses other ways of development - if the development of the blood system in the tumor is suppressed, it joins adjacent vessels and tissues and uses them as a source of nutrients. This is what makes the tumor resistant to anticancer therapy.
The findings of the scientific group were confirmed by experiments with laboratory rodents that had liver cancer. At the initial stage of treatment, the mice received antiangiogens, which effectively suppressed the growth of cancer cells, but over time, the cancer "sucked" onto adjacent vessels, and the drugs turned out to be completely ineffective. The scientists also noted an unusual feature - malignant tumors also responded to the end of treatment, as soon as the rodents stopped receiving antiangiogens, the tumor again created its own blood system and continued to grow. According to the scientists, this feature explains why some cancer patients experience positive dynamics after a break in treatment.
English experts are confident that understanding the mechanism of tumor development will allow the creation of effective treatment methods and the complete suppression of cancer cell growth.
While some experts are trying to understand the process of cancer development, another research group has stated that cancer can be treated by activating the patient's own immune system. Surface proteins found in tumor samples can help direct the immune system against cancer. After studying the DNA of patients, scientists have concluded that it is possible to create a vaccine based on the proteins found in the tumor, which activates the immune system to fight malignant cells.
But such treatments have not yet been confirmed in clinical trials, and the research team hopes to receive all the necessary approvals for further experiments in the next two years.
It is worth noting that all previous attempts by scientists to combat cancer using the patient's own immunity have been unsuccessful. Experts explained that the failures were due to the fact that the body was initially given the wrong target - cancer cells mutate, and their appearance and reaction can be different. One of the scientists noted that the new study found that the tumor leaves traces that the immune system can recognize, so the new treatment method may be quite effective, but most importantly, such treatment will be relatively cheap.
[ 1 ]