Cancer-causing stem cells evade chemotherapy by surviving in fat deposits around gonads.

Fat tissue supports the growth of normal blood-forming stem cells. Craig Jordan of the University of Colorado Denver and his colleagues found that in a mouse model of one form of leukaemia, gonadal fat deposits contained numerous cancer stem cells, but subcutaneous fat had very few. Leukaemic cells induced the breakdown of gonadal fat, releasing nutrients that fuelled the growth of malignant cells in fat as well as other tissues. The cancer stem cells also expressed CD36, a cellular marker that boosts fat metabolism, helping to protect the cells from many chemotherapy drugs. Targeting fat metabolism could help to eradicate leukaemia stem cells, the authors suggest.

Cell Stem Cell http://doi.org/bkqj (2016)