Fat-storing cells called adipocytes are major players in the spread of ovarian cancer to a fatty abdominal organ called the omentum. Using cultured human adipocytes and ovarian cancer cells, Ernst Lengyel of the University of Chicago in Illinois and his colleagues found that hormonal signals from the omentum's adipocytes attract cancer cells. This could explain why ovarian cancers often metastasize to the omentum. In culture, adipocytes transfer lipids to ovarian cancer cells, which use them as an energy source and grow rapidly.
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