BioCentury
ARTICLE | Targets & Mechanisms

Platelets YAP at cancer

MD Anderson team finds molecular link between high platelet counts and metastasis

September 14, 2017 10:54 PM UTC

While elevated platelet levels often signify an underlying malignancy, the molecular mechanisms linking the two are not well understood. Now, a team from MD Anderson has shown a well-known, but barely exploited signaling pathway mediates the interaction of platelets and metastasizing cells, pointing the way to therapies that block the signal in cancer cells and leave vital platelet functions unscathed.

Although the connection between thrombocytosis -- elevated platelet counts -- and cancer has long been known in theory, it’s received increased attention recently because of the growing co-incidence of the two conditions among patients over the last decade...