The incidence of skin squamous cell carcinoma is increasing worldwide. Although most cases are successfully treated through surgery, there is still a considerable percentage of patients who suffer relapses directly associated with metastases. This causes the appearance of tumors in more advanced stages, more aggressive and resistant to the therapies that are currently available, resulting in a low survival in this type of tumor.
A recent study published in the scientific journal ‘Journal of Experimental & Clinical Cancer Research’, led by a research team from the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL) and the Catalan Institute of Oncology (ICO) and with the collaboration of professionals from the Bellvitge Hospital, has revealed that the protein ITGAV could serve as a prognostic biomarker in patients with cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma. This finding would allow for a more accurate prediction of the evolution of the disease and reveals the mechanisms involved in tumor progression.
A protein that can predict the evolution of the disease and the molecular mechanisms involved in the appearance of aggressive tumors
In this study, the IDIBELL and ICO research team has found a prognostic biomarker that identifies patients at high risk of tumor recurrence in early stages of the disease. This new biomarker can complement and improve the information obtained through the histopathological criteria established in the clinic, allowing a closer follow-up of patients and the assignment of more effective therapies from the onset of the disease.
In intermediate stages of the progression of skin squamous cell carcinoma, epithelial cancer cells can acquire a plasticity that brings them closer to the characteristics of mesenchymal-type cells: they gain migratory and invasive capacity and potential to generate aggressive cancer cells. “Currently, with the clinical criteria available, it is not possible to discriminate these plastic epithelial cancer cells,” explains the first author of the article, Marta López, and remarks that “these findings show that the expression of the ITGAV protein identifies these epithelial plastic cancer cells and, as a consequence, allows the early detection of those patients at risk of tumor relapse. This would allow us to identify, more precisely, which patients need more intensive follow-up.”
Moreover, this research has revealed that ITGAV collaborates with another protein, IGF1R, in the acquisition of cellular plasticity. Thus, blocking ITGAV or IGF1R could be effective strategies to prevent the appearance of plastic epithelial cancer cells and the tumor progression to more aggressive stages. “The knowledge obtained thanks to these studies reveals possible therapeutic strategies to block the generation of skin squamous cell carcinoma with aggressive mesenchymal characteristics and highlights the relevance of biomarkers to establish windows of opportunity for targeted therapies,” says the leader of the study and head of the research group on Aging and Cancer at IDIBELL, Purificación Muñoz.
This finding opens the door to new therapies that could significantly improve the prognosis in cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma.
The Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL) is a biomedical research center created in 2004. It is participated by the Bellvitge University Hospital and the Viladecans Hospital of the Catalan Institute of Health, the Catalan Institute of Oncology, the University of Barcelona and the City Council of L’Hospitalet de Llobregat.
IDIBELL is a member of the Campus of International Excellence of the University of Barcelona HUBc and is part of the CERCA institution of the Generalitat de Catalunya. In 2009 it became one of the first five Spanish research centers accredited as a health research institute by the Carlos III Health Institute. In addition, it is part of the “HR Excellence in Research” program of the European Union and is a member of EATRIS and REGIC. Since 2018, IDIBELL has been an Accredited Center of the AECC Scientific Foundation (FCAECC).