Now scientists from the United State of America have made a breakthrough on how cells replicate in cancer patients, how to put a stop to it, and how to reverse a tumor.
What
happens in a healthy organism is that cells are constantly replicating
and replacing themselves with identical copies.
A mechanism inside the
body handles growth to make sure cells don’t overproduce.
When
that mechanism malfunctions in an organ, the cells don’t stop growing,
and they develop into tumors.
Usual treatment involves a combination of
surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy, depending on many factors. But
in the future, a new kind of treatment might be available to cancer
patients that will make the others obsolete.
Scientists
at the Mayo Clinic in Florida have identified the cell’s microprocessor
that controls cell growth. Called microRNA, this biological controller
instructs the cells to stop dividing the moment they have replicated
sufficiently, The Telegraph reports.
When that happens,
microRNA triggers the production of a protein called PLEKHA7, which then
breaks the cell bonds and stops growth. In cancerous cells, that
process doesn’t work properly.
The
doctors were able to switch on cancer in cells by removing microRNAs
and preventing them from producing the protein. Then they found they can
reverse the process, stopping tumor growth and potentially changing
cancer growth.
All a patient would need would be an injections
containing microRNAs that would reinforce the existing supply in cancer
cells.
“We
have now done this in very aggressive human cell lines from breast and
bladder cancer,” Department of Cancer Biology professor Panos
Anastasiadis said.
Cancer
is a terrifying disease that researchers around the globe are
obsessively working to cure. Now scientists from the USA have made a
breakthrough discovery related to how cells replicate in cancer
patients, how to put a stop to the process, and even how to reverse a
tumor.
What
happens in a healthy organism is that cells are constantly replicating
and replacing themselves with identical copies. A mechanism inside the
body handles growth to make sure cells don’t overproduce.
When
that mechanism malfunctions in an organ, the cells don’t stop growing,
and they develop into tumors. Usual treatment involves a combination of
surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy, depending on many factors. But
in the future, a new kind of treatment might be available to cancer
patients that will make the others obsolete.
Scientists
at the Mayo Clinic in Florida have identified the cell’s microprocessor
that controls cell growth. Called microRNA, this biological controller
instructs the cells to stop dividing the moment they have replicated
sufficiently, The Telegraph reports. When that happens,
microRNA triggers the production of a protein called PLEKHA7, which then
breaks the cell bonds and stops growth. In cancerous cells, that
process doesn’t work properly.
The
doctors were able to switch on cancer in cells by removing microRNAs
and preventing them from producing the protein.
Then they found they can
reverse the process, stopping tumor growth and potentially changing
cancer growth. All a patient would need would be an injections
containing microRNAs that would reinforce the existing supply in cancer
cells.
“We
have now done this in very aggressive human cell lines from breast and
bladder cancer,” Department of Cancer Biology professor Panos
Anastasiadis said.
“These
cells are already missing PLEKHA7. Restoring either PLEKHA7 levels or
the levels of microRNAs in these cells turns them back to a benign
state. We are now working on better delivery options.”
It’s
not clear at this time when this promising treatment will be available
to patients, as it’s likely that more research is needed to come up with
treatment protocols for dealing with various types of cancer.
“Initial
experiments in some aggressive types of cancer are indeed very
promising,” he said. “It represents an unexpected new biology that
provides the code, the software for turning off cancer.”
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