A Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) study has identified a new role for an important enzyme in preparing lung tissue for the development of metastases. Published in the early edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the report describes how focal adhesion kinase (FAK) is involved in producing areas of vascular leakiness in lung tissue – known to be part of the premetastatic process – and increases expression of a molecule that attracts cancer cells to potential metastatic sites.

“Blood from all tissues of the body travels to the lungs for oxygenation, increasing the likelihood that circulating metastatic cells will interact with the lung microvasculature,” says Rakesh K. Jain, PhD, director of the Steele Laboratory for Tumor Biology at MGH and senior author of the study. “Identifying factors that prepare this ‘hospitable soil’ for tumor formation may help us develop strategies to slow or halt that process.”