Researchers from canada and austria have identified and blocked the action of a protein linked to the spread of prostate cancer cells to the bones. The rankl molecule, which is produced in bone marrow, tells cancer cells to come to it.


Researchers discovered that inhibiting the protein can stop the cancerous cells from migrating to the bones.

The results explain the mystery of why certain cancers spread to the bones and how interfering with the process can prevent the spread of the disease.

Although the research was done in mice, drugs that interfere with rankl are in development and could be used to test if the same holds true for humans.