Cancer cells use their “feet,” structures known as invadopodia, to spread throughout the body. Scientists have found a way to block the formation of these feet-like structures by blocking the Abl family of protein kinases. Suppressing these kinases also inhibited the protein that cancer cells use to “chew” through and thus escape the material around them. Without their escape mechanism and invadopodia, cancer cells are not able to spread effectively. In this study, the drug used to block the Abl kinases was imatinib (Gleevec®), which is already FDA-approved to treat leukemia. However, this study suggests a broader use of imatinib to treat other cancers. The use of this drug in combination with a therapy that directly kills cancer cells may improve the success of current treatments.
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