Alcohol consumption flavors Tumor Cells

Alcohol consumption has long been linked to cancer development in the body, but the underlying mechanism has never been made clear.
Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois, have identified a cellular pathway that may explain the alcohol link with cancer.
The study, published in current issue of "Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research", found that alcohol stimulates a body transition, called epithelial to mesenchymal, allowing run of the mill cancer cells to move into a more aggressive pattern, to speed throughout the body.
"Our data shows alcohol turns on certain signals inside a cell that are involved in this transition" said Chris Forsyth, PhD. Assist.Professor of Medicine and Biochemistry, Rush University.
Cancer cells become dangerous when they metastasize, and while surgery can remove a tumor, aggressive tumor cells invade tissue throughout the body and take over, said Forsyth. "If we can thwart this transition, we can limit cancer's toll", he concluded.
A factor in the transition, called Snail, controls the cell transition of epithelial to mesenchymal, inducing formation of multiple tumors.
Laboratory tests show alcohol activated both these and other biochemical characteristics of the cell transition; that the alcohol-treated cells had lost their tight junctions with adjacent cells, a preparation for migrating, as metastatic cells, do.
Biomarkers were activated in normal interested cells, treated with alcohol, suggesting alcohol not only worsens the profile of existing cancer cells, but may also initiate cancer activity by stimulating cells in the transitional process. Acknowledge medicalnewstoday.com Geoff.