Blocking "rogue gene" may stop cancer spread-study

[Joanne98]

Source: Reuters

LONDON, Jan 24 (Reuters) - British scientists have discovered a "rogue gene" which helps cancer spread around the body and say blocking it with the right kind of drugs could stop many types of the disease in their tracks.

Researchers from the University of East Anglia said their findings could lead within a decade to the development of new medicines to halt a critical late stage of the disease known as metastasis, when cancer cells spread to other parts of the body.

The culprit gene, called WWP2, is an enzymic bonding agent found inside cancer cells, the researchers explained in their study, published in the journal Oncogene on Monday.

It attacks and breaks down a naturally-occurring protein in the body which normally prevents cancer cells from spreading.



Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSLDE70J16V20110124

[UndertheOcean]

1. Fascinating !

[Bonhomme Richard]

2. Now if we could only block that rogue gene that prevents tea baggers

brains from properly evaluation new information. That would be something.

[mikekohr]

4. some things are truely hopeless

[formercia]

8. You can't cure stupid

especially when it's inbred.

[xchrom]

3. Let's hope it leads to creating those drugs. Nt

[Demeter]

5. Most Medical Advances Seem to Be British, these Days

what price cutting basic research? Not to mention the stupidity of blocking stem cell research, which blocks a whole lot more besides....

[TygrBright]

10. Well, American researchers have more important things to do.

You know... boner pills, indigestion, hair loss, incontinence.

PROFITABLE stuff.

helpfully,
Bright

[ngant17]

13. this must be leftwing propaganda

after all, Rush Limbaugh says America has the best health system in the world. And people are flocking over to America in droves for the opportunity to be charged for it.

[Stuckinthebush]

6. Let's do it!

Now!

[Kelvin Mace]

7. Is it my imagination

or does it seem to anyone else that more and more of these type announcements about major medical research breakthroughs are coming from the U.K., India and everywhere else EXCEPT the U.S., (unless it involves erections or plastic surgery)?

[Posteritatis]

12. The UK's been particularly good with genetics research for some time

Most especially neat genetics or medical discoveries I've heard of in the last several years come out of there; they've always been very good in that department.

The US isn't that much of a slouch there either when they pull out all the stops; witness a certain congresswoman, after all.

[Kelvin Mace]

14. Imagine where we would be if:

1) We didn't spend about a third of our annual revenue on killing people.

2) We didn't have about a third of the population with absolute contempt for science.

[DesertFlower]

9. my friend has been battling acute myeloid leukemia for

a year. she's had 2 rounds of chemo and a t-cell implant, but her cancer is back. doc told her she has a bad chromosone which will make the cancer keeping coming back.

[devilgrrl]

11. Wouldn't stopping the production of pollutins and toxins help too?

eom