The KISS1 metastasis suppressor: a good night kiss for disseminated cancer cells.
Beck. Benjamin H BH; Welch. Danny R DR
Key Findings
- Re‑introducing KISS1 in cancer cells blocks their ability to colonize new sites.
- Low or missing KISS1 levels in patients are linked to worse cancer outcomes.
- KISS1 is being explored as a possible drug target to control metastasis.
Practical Outcomes
- At this stage there are no actionable protocols for individuals. The concept is still experimental and requires clinical development before it could be used outside of a research setting.
Summary
KISS1 is a protein that can stop cancer cells from forming new tumors after they spread. When tumors lose KISS1, they tend to grow and spread faster. Scientists think boosting KISS1 could be a way to treat metastasis, but no practical treatment or dosage is available yet.
Abstract
Re-expression of KISS1 in tumor cell lines allows all antecedent steps of metastasis, but prevents colonization of secondary sites. Because tumor cells have already disseminated by the time of cancer diagnosis, KISS1 may represent a new opportunity for therapeutic intervention. Moreover, numerous clinical reports demonstrate that a loss or reduction of KISS1 expression in different human cancers inversely correlates with tumor progression, metastasis, and survival. Taken together, these observations compel the hypothesis that KISS1 could be of tremendous utility in controlling metastasis in a therapeutic context. In this review, we highlight some key findings from preclinical and clinical studies and discuss strategies whereby KISS1 may be exploited clinically to treat metastases.
Study Information
pubmed
2010
2010-03-19T00:00:00.000Z
10.1016/j.ejca.2010.02.023
87
44