Overview
- University of Gothenburg researchers report that the stress-response protein ATF4 enables metabolic rewiring in older tumors that promotes lung cancer spread.
- An analysis of about 1,000 Swedish patients found higher ATF4 levels in tumors from older individuals and linked ATF4 to recurrence after surgery and poorer survival in lung adenocarcinoma.
- Comparisons of young and old mice showed that older subjects often had smaller, slower-growing primary tumors yet more frequent metastatic disease at detection.
- Pharmacologically inhibiting ATF4 or an ATF4-controlled metabolic process markedly curtailed dissemination of old tumors in preclinical models.
- The authors recommend age-directed precision strategies and wider use of age-appropriate research models, noting that human associations are observational and clinical testing is still needed.