Scientists ID Metastatic Cancer Cells Target
Monday, July 27, 2026
University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) researchers, including University of Illinois Cancer Center members and trainees, have identified a molecular switch that helps determine whether cancer cells remain soft and difficult to destroy or become stiff enough for the immune system to attack.
UIC Today featured the study, which sheds new light on how the physical properties of cancer cells influence the spread of cancer and points to a promising new therapeutic target. The study was published in the journal Developmental Cell.
Study authors include Ekrem Emrah Er, PhD, the senior author and leader of the Cancer Center's Tumor Microenvironment Working Group, and Jalees Rehman, MD, the Cancer Center Associate Director for Translational Science. The study's first author, Alexa Gajda, PhD, is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Rehman Lab.
