In a breakthrough discovery recently made by scientists at the Northwestern University, it has been found that the increase of the malignant melanoma can be inhibited by protein (hESCs) that controls growth of human embryonic stem cells. Furthermore, it was also established that a protein secreted just by hESCs, known as Lefty, prevents the metastasis of the malignant cells of breast cancer. This team of researchers is being headed by Mary J C Hendrix, MD.

Earlier, extensive research made by the team had demonstrated the potent influence the microenvironment of hESC has on the reprogramming of the metastazing melanoma cells. 

However, in the recently conducted studies, it was discovered that the malignant breast cancer and melanoma generate a “morphogenic” protein known as Nodal, which may possibly serve to be a prognostic bio-marker of malignant behaviour of cancer cells. It was also noted that the malignant tumor cells did not express Lefty protein thereby showing abnormal production of Nodal. Though, when these tumor cells were exposed to the hESCs microenvironment, dramatic reduction in the tumor cell proliferation, their invasiveness and rate of Nodal expression was observed.

According to Hendrix a new parameter has been added to treatment of cancer with the discovery of hESCs and its tumor suppressing abilities.

The findings from the present research lay emphasis on the fact that there has to be proper utilization of factors in the hESCs microenvironment which influence the fate of the tumor cells and also reverse the malignant properties of active tumor cells like those of breast cancer and melanoma.