Cancer's spreading mechanism found

[Al-khiyal]

December 29, 2007 -- Scientists have found a mechanism that controls how cancer cells move around the body. The discovery will help doctors better understand the spread of the disease and could lead to improved drugs to prevent secondary tumours.

One in three people will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime and the movement of cancer cells from the main tumour to other parts of the body is one of the main reasons why the disease is so lethal: each new tumour means a fresh course of treatment is needed. Preventing the spread of tumours is one of the main goals of cancer research.

In the new study, led by Michael Way, of Cancer Research UK's London Research Institute, scientists have found a way to copy the body's own protection system, which tries to prevent tumours from moving around.

Cancers spread thanks to a protein called mena, which is found in excessive amounts in all tumours. A second protein, tes, stops this movement by attaching itself to mena - but normally there is so much mena in cancer cells that tes cannot do its job.

In the new research, published yesterday in the journal Molecular Cell, scientists describe the molecular mechanism by which tes locks on to mena. If they can design a drug to mimic this action, it will allow doctors to give tes a helping hand.

Dr Way said: "Our findings represent a new way to regulate a key family of proteins involved in cell crawling that will change the way researchers see current models of cell migration - an important aspect of the spread of cancer."

Figures published by the American Cancer Society on Thursday show that there will have been more than 12 million new cancer cases and 7.6 million deaths from the disease worldwide by year's end - about 20,000 deaths a day.

Cancer's spreading mechanism found

[Bent_Bladi]

wow... the money going into cancer research is really helping these docs do their job... bravo

....... tes and mena... what strange names