Researchers have identified a key mechanism driving the spread of colon cancer to the liver: the absence of a protein called IKKa allows tumor cells to cluster together and survive as they travel through the body.
The study, published Friday, March 13, 2026, in the scientific journal Nature Communications, was led by the Hospital del Mar Research Institute of Barcelona (HMRIB) and the Pathology Service of Hospital del Mar in Barcelona, Spain.
The research reveals that the ability of cancer cells to form groups is crucial for the tumor’s dissemination from the colon to other organs. This discovery offers potential novel avenues for understanding and combating metastatic colon cancer, a major public health challenge.
When tumor cells travel alone through the bloodstream, they are typically eliminated by the immune system. Still, the study found that when these cells group together, they are better able to resist immune system attacks and colonize new tissues, such as the liver – a common destination for colon cancer metastasis.
According to lead researcher Lluís Espinosa, the IKKa protein “limits that capacity of union” between cancer cells.
When this protein is missing or malfunctioning, cells adhere to each other more strongly and form more efficient groups for traveling throughout the body and generating new metastases.
To demonstrate this mechanism, researchers utilized organoids – small cellular structures grown in the lab from cells of patients with colon cancer. By eliminating the IKKa protein in these models, they observed an increased ability of tumor cells to cluster together.
These findings were then confirmed in preclinical models using mice. Experiments revealed a “specific subpopulation of tumor cells with especially strong bonds between them” responsible for initiating liver metastasis, Espinosa noted.
Tumors lacking IKKa demonstrated a greater metastatic capacity compared to those that retained the protein.
The study also showed that blocking certain proteins involved in the union between tumor cells, such as claudin 2, can reduce their ability to metastasize. Inhibiting this protein, which helps maintain cell-to-cell connections, caused tumor cells to lose some of their ability to group and migrate.
Researchers are now working to confirm these results in patient samples with the goal of developing new markers to “identify patients with a higher risk of metastasis and open the door to therapies aimed at preventing tumor spread,” Espinosa explained.
The study also involved collaboration with the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute, University College Dublin, and the Cancer Research Network Biomedical Center (CIBERONC).
EFE / Noticias Venevision
