A team of scientists from the Beatson Institute for Cancer Research in Glasgow has reported a new method for attacking cancer cells and presented its findings in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.
This early research could pave the way for a new agent to stop tumours growing. The researchers suggest that sending the protein, called 37AA, directly into the bloodstream using a nanoparticle delivery system could be a potential way to find and kill tumour cells that have spread as well as those in the primary tumour. In further laboratory studies the research team found that the chemical could kill several types of cancer cells, including bowel, cervical and bone cells.
Lead researcher Dr Kevin Ryan, a Cancer Research UK senior research fellow and head of the Tumour Cell Death Laboratory at the Beatson Institute, said: “Our study has shown for the first time that the selective activation of a gene called p73 can cause cell death in tumours. We think this approach has the potential to be developed into an effective treatment for cancer.”
The gene p73 is related to p53, one of the most important genes known to protect against the development of cancer. Dr Ryan added: “Previously we thought p73 was just a sleeping partner of p53, so we’re really excited that we’ve found a way to harness its function to treat cancer. While our studies are still at a preliminary stage, the next phase of our work is going to focus on developing a drug that mimics the effect of the 37AA protein.
We hope this strategy could then be more readily tested for its potential development in human tumours.”
