New research from London Metropolitan University may explain why cancer rarely spreads to skeletal muscle and points to a non-invasive urine test for prostate cancer.
Date: 17 February 2026
Two new studies led by researchers at London Metropolitan University could change how scientists understand cancer metastasis and how clinicians diagnose prostate cancer with implications for patients that stretch well beyond the laboratory.
The research, produced by London Met's Cell Communication in Disease Pathology group which is led by Professor Jameel Inal, offers a potential explanation for why cancer rarely spreads to skeletal muscle, and points toward a non-invasive urine test that could one day replace the painful tissue biopsies currently used to diagnose prostate cancer.
At the heart of both discoveries are extracellular vesicles (EVs), nanometre-sized particles released by virtually every cell in the body, which act as messengers in cell-to-cell communication.
Discoveries 15 years in the making
Lead researcher Professor Inal says the idea behind the muscle study had been in development for more than 15 years. "I had just started working on extracellular vesicles when I began to wonder whether they might be contributing to this phenomenon," he said. What followed was a technically demanding series of laboratory experiments that ultimately suggested EVs secreted by skeletal muscle cells create a hostile microenvironment for migrating lung carcinoma cells. In effect, repelling tumour cells that might otherwise take hold.
While the findings are so far limited to controlled laboratory conditions, Professor Inal says the team is now working to confirm them in a living model. "It already points to possible future directions for developing novel cancer therapies," he said. "We have already begun identifying the critically important biomolecules within these skeletal muscle EVs, and relating this work to long-term muscle health."
The second study, conducted in collaboration with colleagues at East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust's Lister Hospital and part-funded by London Met, examined whether EVs found in urine could serve as an early diagnostic marker for prostate cancer. Professor Inal believes the potential here is significant. "This could be developed into a non-invasive diagnostic test, providing a real-time snapshot of the tumour," he said. "Invasive tissue biopsies could become a thing of the past."
Professor Inal said he is proud to be sharing these findings with a wider audience, not least the students on London Met's MSc in Cancer Immunotherapy, a programme he established in 2016.
"Extracellular Vesicles from the Myocyte Secretome Contribute In Vitro to Creating an Unfavourable Environment for Migrating Lung Carcinoma Cells" is published in Biology, and "Urinary Extracellular Vesicle Signatures as Biomarkers in Prostate Cancer Patients" in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences.
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