Mechanical ventilation (MV) can affect the stroma/tissue milieu in the lungs, generating a favorable microenvironment for postoperative lung metastatic tumor development, according to a group of researchers.

This process also causes alterations in their genetic transcription, which alters their features and facilitates their dispersion and distant metastases from the neoplasm of origin, according to the European Respiratory Journal.

The findings revealed that even a brief time of artificial breathing in lung metastasis can enhance the development of distant metastasis later on.

Patients who have undergone this surgery are roughly five times more likely to develop metastases than those who have not undergone this procedure.

“Among altered mechanisms, the cholesterol synthesis route stands out, which is involved in changes in the physical properties of the cell since the percentage of this molecule is a determining factor in membrane rigidity,” scientists said.

“Soft membranes ease cell mobility and migration, which makes cholesterol metabolism key in cancer cells invasiveness.”

Hypercholesterolemia could be treated with a medication called Alirocumab, according to experts. This medication aids in the prevention of cancer cells from spreading.