The research, published in the journal Nature Cell Biology, found that breast cancer cells can use a process called "cell cannibalism" to spread to other parts of the body.
Cell cannibalism occurs when one cell engulfs and digests another cell. In the case of breast cancer, the researchers found that cancer cells can engulf and digest healthy cells, and then use the nutrients from those cells to grow and spread.
This process is different from the way that cancer cells typically spread, which is by dividing and multiplying. Cell cannibalism allows cancer cells to spread more quickly and to evade the immune system.
The researchers believe that cell cannibalism could be a target for new breast cancer treatments. By blocking this process, it may be possible to prevent breast cancer cells from spreading to other parts of the body.
"This is a new way of thinking about how breast cancer spreads," said senior author Dr. Joan Massagué, director of the Sloan Kettering Institute. "It opens up new avenues for research and could lead to new treatments for breast cancer."
The researchers are currently working to develop drugs that block cell cannibalism in breast cancer cells. They hope that these drugs could be used to prevent breast cancer from spreading and to improve the survival of patients with the disease.
