New Approach Keeps Tumor Cells From... (in the death of hypoxic tumor cells. Ox...)

New Approach Keeps Tumor Cells From Refueling

Date:11/21/2008

in the death of hypoxic tumor cells. "Oxygenated cells close to blood vessels used glucose so abundantly that the hypoxic cells far from the blood vessels died from glucose starvation," Sonveaux said.

Sonveaux noted that hypoxic cells are particularly resistant to all forms of anticancer therapies, including chemotherapy and radiotherapy. But after blocking MCT1, radiation killed most of the cancerous cells, he said.

The findings were published in the current issue of The Journal of Clinical Investigation.

Tumor cells cooperate to produce energy, Sonveaux said. "This cooperation can be corrupted therapeutically to destroy the most hard-to-kill cancer cells. This approach is unique and has the potential to cure cancer in combination with radiotherapy. It has also the potential to be applicable to a wide range of human tumors, after the development of a drug compatible with human use," he said.

Drugs that block MCT1 are in development, but clinical trials using this approach are at least several years away, Sonveaux said.

Dr. Margaret K. Offermann, the American Cancer Society's deputy national vice president for research, thinks this finding could lead to new strategies in treating cancer.

"This study explains differences between several types of cancer cells that could potentially be exploited to enhance treatment," Offermann said. "How effective it's going to be is hard to know," she said.

More information

For more on cancer, visit the American Cancer Society.

SOURCES: Pierre Sonveaux, Ph.D., associate professor, University of Louvain Medical School, Brussels, Belgium; Margaret K. Offermann, M.D., Ph.D., deputy national vice president for research, American Cancer Society, Atlanta; November 2008, The Journal of Clinical Investigation

0

GOOD

Page: 1 2
Related medicine news :

1. New approach to screen individuals for early Alzheimers disease
2. Employers Want National Approach to Health Care—Still Believe Employer-Based System Works Best: New Survey Looks At Attitudes toward Health Care Reform and Major Health Care Issues.
3. A Bold Approach to Healthcare Reform: Eliminate Insurance Companies
4. Stress Spikes as Economy Tanks - Psychologist Identifies Why Traditional Stress Management Techniques Dont Work, and Offers Radical New Approach
5. $3.5 Million in Reimbursements for Purchases of Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) for Texas Schools Still Unclaimed With Deadline Approaching
6. Governor Mike Huckabee Discusses How President Elect Barack Obamas Approach to Health Care Will Affect the Nation
7. Employers “Vote” on Presidential Candidates' Health Care Platforms: Prefer Middle Ground Between the Two Approaches
8. Integrative Medicine Pioneer To Host Free Groundbreaking Web Series on a Natural Approach for Treating Depression
9. New topical approach to treating nail fungus circumvents problems with current therapy
10. Genetic Approach Boosts Yeast Infection Treatment
11. Biosimilar Monoclonal Antibodies in Oncology Will Approach Blockbuster Status by 2017

Post Your Comments:

New Approach Keeps Tumor Cells From...(in the death of hypoxic tumor cells. Ox...),Health