Jessica Dean Healthy Living: Colon Cancer Breakthrough
By: Jessica Dean, KARK 4 Today
Updated: October 8, 2012
Researchers in Barcelona have identified a new function of a protein involved in colon cancer.
Scientists identified a variant of an enzyme that activates genes involved in colon cancer tumor progression.
Researchers analyzed 288 samples of human colon cancer and identified the presence of the enzyme variant in most of them. Scientists then showed that blocking the enzyme prevented the growth of colon cancer cells.
The results open the door to designing new drugs to potentially slow the progression of colon cancer.
While the results represent an important advance toward understanding the mechanisms of tumor progression, further research is needed before the discovery can actually be used in patients with colon cancer.
Scientists identified a variant of an enzyme that activates genes involved in colon cancer tumor progression.
Researchers analyzed 288 samples of human colon cancer and identified the presence of the enzyme variant in most of them. Scientists then showed that blocking the enzyme prevented the growth of colon cancer cells.
The results open the door to designing new drugs to potentially slow the progression of colon cancer.
While the results represent an important advance toward understanding the mechanisms of tumor progression, further research is needed before the discovery can actually be used in patients with colon cancer.
