Breast cancers can manipulate the structure of bone to make it easier to spread there, a study has found.
Researchers at the University of Sheffield said the tumours were effectively “fertilising” the bone to help themselves grow.
The study, in the journal Nature, said it may be possible to protect bone from a tumour’s nefarious influence and consequently stop the cancer’s spread.
Cancer charities said this opened up “a whole new avenue for research”.
Around 85% of breast cancers that spread around the body end up in bone, at which point the cancer is difficult to treat and more deadly.