Scientists Uncover Cooperative Feeding Mechanism in Cancer Cells

Research reveals that tumor cells collaborate to scavenge nutrients, offering a potential new target for cancer treatment.

New York University researchers discovered that cancer cells cooperate to obtain scarce nutrients, a process previously overlooked in cancer biology.
The study identified the enzyme CNDP2, secreted by tumor cells, as key to digesting extracellular oligopeptides into shared amino acids for cell proliferation.
Inhibiting CNDP2 with the drug bestatin or through CRISPR gene editing significantly reduced tumor growth in mouse models, particularly when combined with amino acid-restricted diets.
The cooperative nutrient scavenging mechanism was observed across multiple cancer types, including skin, breast, lung, colon, and pancreatic cancers.
Researchers suggest targeting this cooperative process could enhance cancer treatments, with bestatin showing potential as part of combination therapies.