A ‘masterswitch’ in the body’s battle against cancer has been identified by British scientists, raising hope of new treatments.
The key gene triggers the production of blood cells capable of fighting – and killing – tumour cells.
The cells form part of the body’s natural armoury against disease and we all have some.
But making more could bolster our defence, saving some of the 155,000 lives lost each year to cancer in the UK.
The findings could also shed light on the immune system’s role in other conditions such as diabetes and multiple sclerosis.
Infusions of natural killer cells donated from volunteers are already given to some cancer patients. However, because they come from another person, they are not a complete match and so do not work as well.
Colon cancer cells
The discovery of the ‘master-switch’ – a gene called E4bp4 that causes ‘blank’ stem cells to turn into natural killer cells – paves the way for a drug to boost the patient’s own stock of the cells.
Researcher Hugh Brady, of Imperial College London, said: ‘The natural killer cell was like the Cinderella of the white blood cells, we didn’t know very much about them.
‘We knew a little bit about how they work but we didn’t know where they came from.
‘We stumbled on this when researching childhood leukaemia. We thought the gene was involved in that. It turns it probably isn’t but it has a very important role in the immune system.
‘With a bit of serendipity we have found the key to the pathway that gives rise to natural killer cells.’
To investigate the role of the gene, Dr Brady genetically engineered mice who lacked it. The mice made other types of blood cell as normal but did not make any natural killer cells.
This proves the gene to be pivotal in the production of natural killer cells, which fight viruses and bacteria as well as cancers, the journal Nature Immunology reports.
The researchers are now hunting for a drug that could increase cancer patients’ production of these natural killer cells, and, it is hoped, their odds of beating the disease.
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March 3rd, 2010 at 2:07 am
Scientists have developed a gene test which predicts how well chemotherapy will work in cancer patients.
Starting with 829 genes in breast cancer cells, the team whittled down the possibilities to six genes which had an impact on whether a drug worked.
They then showed that these genes could be used to predict the effectiveness of a drug called paclitaxel in patients.
It is hoped the approach, reported in The Lancet Oncology, can be replicated for other cancers and treatments.
The international project, including researchers from Cancer Research UK’s London Research Institute, opens the way for breast cancer treatment to be targeted to those who will benefit the most.
To find which genes, if missing or faulty, could prevent the drug from working, they deleted them one by one from cancer cells in the laboratory.
They eventually highlighted the six genes which if absent or not working prevent paclitaxel from properly killing breast cancer cells.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8539502.stm
March 29th, 2010 at 7:29 pm
A chemical cocktail may be able to destroy growths in the gut which have the potential to become colon cancers, say scientists.
Bowel polyps are not malignant – but patients may need to have them removed then undergo regular check-ups.
A team of US scientists reported in the journal Nature that their drug – so far tested on mice – could persuade the growths to disappear.
However, one specialist said it was too early to say if the cocktail was safe.
Many research teams are looking for effective ways to suppress or prevent polyps from forming among the healthy cells which line the colon.
These are a particular problem for people with a condition called familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP), which increases the risk of both polyps and the cancers linked to them.
This can mean frequent colonoscopy checks, in which a camera is inserted into the lower bowel, to make sure new polyps or cancers are not present.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8590023.stm
April 27th, 2010 at 10:39 pm
A screening test that takes five minutes and cuts the risk of developing bowel cancer by a third could save at least 3,000 lives a year, research has shown.
A study of more than 170,000 volunteers aged between 55 and 64 suggested that the examination of the lower colon and rectum reduced deaths by 43 per cent. The test, which involves the quick removal of growths with the potential to turn cancerous, is seen as a strategy that could transform prevention and early detection of the disease. In the study group examined, incidence of bowel cancer fell by a third.
Scientists said yesterday that the research, published on The Lancet website, made the national introduction of the one-off test for all men and women at the age of 55 a “no brainer”.
A quarter of the volunteers in the 16-year study underwent a sigmoidoscopy, where a camera mounted on a thin, flexible tube known as a Flexi-Scope was inserted about a third of the way into the bowel. Most bowel cancers stem from polyps or symptomless growths in the rectum and colon and where these were found they were removed in a safe and pain-free procedure, the researchers said.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article7109833.ece