Scientists unlock the mystery of blood clot
deaths in cancer patients
A new
study conducted by New Zealand scientists have solved the mystery of why many cancer patients die of blood clots while undergoing chemotherapy.
In the study by
University of Otago researchers that came out on Wednesday said, chemotherapy
stimulates release of tiny bubbles from the surface of cancer cells, as
reported in Xinhua news.
The most common death
from cancer were caused by uncontrolled growth of tumour in vital organs, but the second common
way that cancer kills is by triggering blood clotting resulting in thrombosis. The
clots cause blockage of major blood vessels, preventing oxygen and nutrients to
vital organs.
Despite being
life-prolonging, chemotherapy is thus associated with a six-to-seven fold
increase in the risk of thrombosis in cancer patients.
Associate Professor
Alex McLellan said in a statement that the link between cancer and
thrombosis was noted over 100 years ago, but the reasons for the association
had been elusive, Associate Professor Alex McLellan said in a statement.
McLellan's team have
discovered that cancer cells when treated with chemotherapy releases lipid-rich
bubbles from their membranes that activated coagulation (clotting) processes.
"We now have
insight into how these bubbles from dying cancer cells may cause thrombosis
during chemotherapy," McLellan added.
The research had showed
that certain solid cancers were more active in promoting blood coagulation, as
compared to lymphomas. "A general pattern is that cancers such as
pancreatic, lung and brain cancers carry the largest risk of thrombotic
events," he said.
The study opened the
possibility of developing inhibitors to the major coagulation pathway
identified in cancer cells.
Source: www.zeenews.india.com
01.12.2016
Never
let success get to your head, never let failure get to your heart
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