Tumour matrix profiling gives clues to progression of some lung cancers

They identified two tumour matrix profiles – one in which patient prognosis was good, and the other where patients did poorly. These matrix profiles appear to be established early in the initiation of the tumour and persist as the tumour grows, controlling how the tumour will respond to chemotherapy treatment.

The tumour matrix in patients who fared worse had more collagen proteins and more fibrosis – stiffening of the tumour structure – suggesting that the tumour matrix remodels to protect itself against treatment.

The team also found that, while adenocarcinomas and squamous cell carcinomas appear similar in the clinic, they are quite different in their matrix composition. These differences have the potential to be leveraged by existing therapies developed to treat other disease.

Researchers said these two tumours look very similar under the microscope, and are typically treated the same way, but are very different on a molecular level, this sheds light on why some patients progress well and others don't, and how we might be able to stratify patients to provide more personalised treatment.

Reference:

Parker, A.L., Bowman, E., Zingone, A. et al. Extracellular matrix profiles determine risk and prognosis of the squamous cell carcinoma subtype of non-small cell lung carcinoma. Genome Med 14, 126 (2022). DOI: 10.1186/s13073-022-01127-6.