Leader cells promote immunosuppression to drive ovarian cancer progression in vivo
In medical research having a catchy name for any recent findings is a good tool to promote visibility and attract funding. A recent article from the Hudson Institute demonstrates this.
Ovarian cancer presents late with metastasis having already occurred for 75% of cases at the time of diagnosis. This study looks at a feature of aggressive ovarian cancer, whereby cells at the margins of the cancer known as “Leader cells”, develop invasive outgrowths formed of keratin-14, a protein similar to skin and hair proteins.
The presence of these leader cells promotes invasion of surrounding tissues, the exact nature of why this occurs is unclear but studies in mice ovarian cancer cells show immune suppression. As a result, the normal protective immune reaction to invasion, mediated by T cell lymphocytes is inactivated.
Caution about the significance of these results is expressed by the authors who suggest this study is limited and further investigation is warranted. Despite this caution the term “Leader cells” seems to have caught the attention of the popular press.
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