A study from The Wistar Institute, published in Nature Aging, found that ovarian cancer cells that survive chemotherapy can release a sugar that appears to encourage nearby cancer cells to spread. The discovery could help explain why ovarian cancer often returns and may eventually lead to new approaches to treatment. Fructose Acts as a Signal for Cancer SpreadResearchers found that cancer cells that survived treatment produced fructose and used it as a signal to help nearby cancer cells spread. Why Ovarian Cancer Often ReturnsAlthough ovarian cancer often responds well to platinum-based chemotherapy, it returns in most patients and frequently spreads throughout the abdominal cavity. Researchers found that substances released by cancer cells that survived treatment were enough to significantly increase the ability of other cancer cells to spread.