Identifying the Cellular "Accomplices" That Drive Oral Cancer Metastasis

Article from USA

Authors: Ken Furudate, DMD, PHD

Koichi Takahashi, MD, PhD

This study maps the invasive front of oral cancer using spatial transcriptomics. It was found that tumor cells were aided by an "accomplice": activated myofibroblastic CAFs (myCAFs).

''For years, we have focused on the cancer cell itself, yet metastasis remains a major challenge. Our research reveals the challenge often lies with the cancer cell's accomplice, and we believe the key to winning this fight is to target this accomplice, preventing metastasis before it even starts."

--Ken Furudate, D.M.D., Ph.D. , Genomic Medicine and Leukemia Research

Through ECM-CD44 crosstalk, myCAFs enhance tumor cell stemness, creating a metastatic niche. From this interaction, we extracted a spatially resolved, 23-gene signature that predicts both lymph node metastasis and poor survival, which offers new prognostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets.

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This research was published as a peer-reviewed article in the journal PLOS Genetics on September 4, 2025.

The significance of this work was also highlighted in an official press release by The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center on September 4, 2025.

Primary Publication:

Furudate K, Kasai S, Yoshizawa T, Sasaki Y, Fujikura K, et al. (2025) Spatial colocalization and molecular crosstalk of myofroblastic CAFs and tumor cells shape lymph node metastasis in oral squamous cell carcinoma. PLOS Genetics 21(9): e1011791. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1011791

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