A new study suggests that breast cancer metastasizes faster than its normal rate when patients sleep at night. The research contrasts previous theories wherein the particular type of cancer spreads at the same rate regardless of the time of the day.
The latest findings on the metastasis of breast cancer could help specialists improve the diagnosis and blood sample collections in the future.
Higher Metastasis of Cancer Cells At Rest Time Discovered
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich's Institute of Molecular Health Sciences expert and lead author of the study Nicola Aceto explained in a report that the data they gathered could contribute to the healthcare professionals getting more accurate information during procedures such as biopsies.
Aceto continued that the data could be precise when taken from the patients at specific times of the day.
The interest in the study was inspired by the unexplained phenomenon observed during tests taken around the clock. According to the authors, there was a significant discrepancy between the circulating tumor cells in blood samples collected from the affected patients at various hours.
Aceto said that these samples were commonly gathered depending on the patient's schedule, with some data being recorded between unusual hours.
The investigation involved the participation of 30 women diagnosed with breast cancer. The group includes 21 early cancer patients and nine individuals who already have stage four metastatic disease.
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Cell Division as Culprit of Faster Metastasis
The pattern they saw was bizarre, with approximately 78 percent of the tumor cells showing variance when blood samples were taken day and night. The spread detected was much higher during the night when patients commonly sleep compared to bright morning and afternoon when awake.
The samples yielded the same results when taken from mice subjects resting and sleeping during the day. The cancer cells extracted from these rest hours are highly prone to metastasis compared to the circulating tumor cells from the daytime devoid of metastatic ability, reports Science Alert.
Genetic analysis reveals that the phenomenon is caused by an expression that becomes upregulated during rest. These elements, called mitotic genes, are responsible for cell division. When combined with their hyperactivity during a patient's rest, mitotic genes include the circulating cancer cells for improvement, allowing a faster rate of the harmful cells to spread across the body.
Experts found a marked reduction in the rate of the cancer cells taken during rest time when they injected the mice subjects with compounds such as insulin, testosterone, and dexamethasone.
The expert said there are possibly other factors behind the escape of circulating cancer cells, such as the melatonin hormones that control our body clock. The study was published in Nature, titled "The metastatic spread of breast cancer accelerates during sleep."
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