Institute of Science and Technology Austria researchers link chaotic environments to cancer cell invasion

Researchers from the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) and the Francis Crick Institute have identified how chaotic environments surrounding tumors may trigger cancer cell invasion. Published in Science Advances, the study suggests that a disordered microenvironment can promote the detachment of individual cells from a tumor collective.

While cell detachment was previously thought to be primarily driven by genetic factors, this research indicates that the non-malignant microenvironment plays a significant role. Once cells detach from the collective, they can invade neighboring tissues more efficiently, potentially leading to metastasis in organs such as the lungs or liver. The findings utilize a simplified model to demonstrate how structural roughness and environmental disorder influence these invasive behaviors.