A tumor protein may help cancer spread to the brain
Original title: Mesothelin-induced lysosomal biogenesis sustains neutrophil longevity to drive brain metastasis.
How far along is this research?
- Lab cells
- Animals
- Review
- Tested in people
This was done in animals, not people. Most findings at this stage never become treatments.
This is early lab research, not a test in people.
The short version
Early lab work shows how one protein from tumor cells may help cancer grow in the brain.
What was studied. Researchers looked at how cancer that spreads to the brain draws in a type of white blood cell called a neutrophil. They tested a protein called mesothelin that tumor cells release.
What they found. Tumor cells shed mesothelin, which latches onto a sensor on neutrophils. This keeps the neutrophils alive longer, and the cancer takes hold and grows in the brain. Blocking the protein, the sensor, or the neutrophils themselves slowed the brain tumors, and blocking the protein and the sensor together worked better than one alone.
What this means, and what it doesn't
What it could mean: This points to a possible new target for future drugs. If the finding holds up, a treatment might one day block this protein to slow cancer spread to the brain.
What it doesn't mean: This is not a treatment anyone can get today. The work is early and was not done in people, so we do not know if it helps patients. It does not show that people live longer or feel better. It is not a cure.
Source: PubMed, October 27, 2026 · Read the original
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