I just finished rereading a book by Richard Feynman that I have not looked at in 30 years. Feynman was one of the lesser lights on the Manhattan Project during World War II who went on to win the Nobel Prize in Physics in the early 1960s.
Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman is a series of stories about his adventures both before and after he became famous. Sometimes he is so obnoxious you want to punch him, but other times he makes a lot of sense. He is one of those guys who understands his particular science so well that he can explain it to a neophyte in ways that make sense–unlike a lot of the experts in any number of fields.
I was reading the book as a break from all the heavy stuff going on over the last two months. Between the trips to Dana-Farber, the projects of our Relay for Life team, and playing figurehead for the high-powered Greater Fall River planning committee, I have begun to feel a bit burned out–not unlike how I traditionally felt in June as the school year wound down.
Of course I can’t read anything without finding some connection back into the issue of cancer in general and NET Cancer and Carcinoid Syndrome in particular. The text often deals with looking at things in non-traditional ways that Feynman often sees as the key to developing scientific ideas.
That kept bringing me back to this idea that has been niggling around in my brain ever since our visit to Dana-Farber to meet with Dr. Kulke and tour one of the labs where they are doing the research on NET. That afternoon, I got to see the face of the enemy for the first time when they set up a culture of growing NET/CS cells under a microscope for me to look at.
As I looked through the microscope, they explained that there were two types of cells growing in the medium: carcinoids–the little buggers that pump out the hormones and peptides–and feeder cells. The interesting thing they told me was if the feeder cells are not present, the carcinoid cells don’t grow and divide. It is not clear why that is the case, but the feeder cells do something to the local environment that causes the carcinoids to grow.
Late last year, I was reading about prostate cancer and how the more aggressive prostate tumors are frequently found in the presence of carcinoid tumors. I’d also read that one of the more aggressive forms of breast cancer has a carcinoid relationship. Same with an aggressive form of lung cancer.
What I am about to say enters the realm of pure speculation based on logic–a dangerous place to go. But what if the feeder cells that create the environment that enables the carcinoids to grow also create an environment that is more conducive to the growth of cancer cells generally? That would explain why other types of tumors who find themselves in proximity to NETs are more aggressive than those that are not.
And if that be so, then research into NETs and their feeder cells and how they work becomes important not only for those with NET/CS patients but for those dealing with other more aggressive cancers as well.
