Wistar Institute study identifies fructose as a driver of cancer metastasis

Research conducted by the Wistar Institute and published in Nature Aging has revealed that certain cancer cells surviving chemotherapy remain biologically active, even when they stop dividing.

In a study focused on ovarian cancer, researchers found that these surviving cells release molecules that signal neighboring cells to spread. Specifically, the study identified fructose as a key chemical messenger used by these cells to drive cancer metastasis. This discovery suggests that the molecules released by surviving cells, rather than the cells themselves, play a primary role in guiding the spread of the disease in preclinical models.