A large problem in treating #cancer is that tumor cells can break loose and travel through the body, founding new tumors. This is known as #metastasis. A single tumor can usually be operated, but when they start growing all over, the cancer becomes very hard to fight.

Scientists have now uncovered a part of the mechanism that makes those tumor cells travel. There's a #protein known as #GRP78 that normally hangs out in a part of the cell called the endoplasmatic reticulum, where it helps large proteins to fold the right way. However, when the cell is under stress, or becomes cancerous, GRP78 can travel to the cell's nucleus and turn certain #genes on and off. Several of those genes control the cell's willingness to travel.

This discovery opens up new avenues of #research and possible treatments.

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-07-unexpected-mechanism-cancer-cell.html