Universidad Politécnica de Madrid Universidad Politécnica de Madrid

Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería
Agronómica, Alimentaria y de Biosistemas

A new molecule makes chemotherapy more effective and decreases metastasis

Patients with colorectal cancer could benefit from a biotechnological strategy developed by a research team at the UCLM and the UPM.


September, 2020

A new lab synthesised molecule makes chemotherapy more effective and decreases the metastatic capacity of tumour cells. It is the most relevant conclusion reached by a study with patients with colorectal cancer conducted by a team of researchers at the Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha (UCML) and the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM). The biotech strategy developed ensures that fewer chemotherapy doses to be necessary while reduces the treatment-resistant cells population, which delays the relapse or recurrence of the tumour.

“Cancer is one of the most urgent problems of our developed societies,” says Carmen Ramírez Castillejo, one of the researchers involved in this project and professor at the ‘Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería Agronómica, Alimentaria y de Biosistemas (ETSIAAB)’. We should keep in mind that, “on the overall numbers and, without going into the cancer type specifications in depth,” up to 35% of patients with tumours suffer a relapse. "The main contribution of our work is finding molecules that help prevent or delay relapse and metastasis", she says.



Carmen Ramírez Castillejo (in the centre of front row), with other members of her research group.


The researchers have worked with a molecule synthesized from a very present protein in the blood; pigment epithelium derived factor, (PEDF). This molecule is present in the biology of the cancer-initiating cells.

The study has concluded that the acute and continuous exposure of cancer cell lines to these molecules decreases resistance to medications used against colorectal cancer, such as oxaliplatin or irinotecan, in addition to depleting their metastatic capacity. Therefore, the authors of the work - published in the journal Oncotarget - point out that the signalling pathway of the PEDF (the sequence of functioning of the molecules to control cell functions) could be a future tool to enhance the effectiveness of chemotherapy and delay patient relapse.

Ramírez Castillejo, member of the Biotechnology-Molecular Biology Department and the research group 'Technologies for Health Sciences', highlights that the reduction of the dose required for current chemotherapeutic treatments for an effective response in cases of colorectal cancer cases "also has important social repercussions". Firstly, he concerns side effects decrease in chemotherapy patients and, secondly, as a result of the above, the reduction "in the hospital pharmaceutical expenditures of our healthcare network".

The project where professor Ramírez Castillejo participates has been in operation for more than ten years, a timeframe in which she has obtained public and private funding worth 400,000 euros. In addition to the UPM, the Health Research Fund (FIS) and the Spanish Association Against Cancer (AECC) collaborate in researchers work.


HONRUBIA-GÓMEZ P, LÓPEZ-GARRIDO MP, GIL-GAS C, SÁNCHEZ-SÁNCHEZ J, ÁLVAREZ-SIMÓN C, CUENCA-ESCALONA J, FERRER A, ARIAS E, MORENO R, SÁNCHEZ-SÁNCHEZ F, RAMÍREZ-CASTILLEJO C. 'Pedf derived peptides affect colorectal cancer cell lines resistance and tumour re-growth capacity'. Oncotarget. 2019; 10:2973-2986.


This article was published in the February 2020 issue of 'Savia', the ETSIAAB’s Bulletin.