Cancer cell 'executioner' found

[acmejack]

Scientists have developed a way of "executing" cancer cells.

Healthy cells have a built-in process which means they commit suicide if something is wrong, a process which fails in cancer cells.

The University of Illinois team created a synthetic molecule which caused cancer cells to self-destruct.

Cancer experts said the study, in Nature Chemical Biology, offered "exciting possibilities" for new ways of treating the disease.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/5284850.stm

[acmejack]

1. Shame it will probably cost a $100,000 a dose...

[grizmaster]

2. I wouldn't assume that

Proteins usually aren't that difficult to produce and since this chemical already exists in our system, testing should move relatively quickly.

[Minnesota Libra]

6. You honestly think the medical industry and those who own it..............

....would do anything just because it's the right thing to do?? Unfortunately, the US medical profession/industry - and those who own it such as idiot boy and his old side kick as well as others - does everything for money - and nothing just for humanity.

The testing won't be the issue though it will be the patents the company gets to hang on to all the profits this whole issue can produce.

[w4rma]

7. It gets it done and the prices *will* come down if it works well.

Top notch scientists aren't cheap and they work very hard on these projects. Although the big buisness behind them will keep the lions share of the profits and the stock holders will make hoards of money.

[WCGreen]

9. If they save all those cancer patients...

Look at how many restless legs and lagging penises will require attention...

[Patchuli]

25. If it worked and I had cancer, I'd pay it! nt

[roguevalley]

26. too late for half my family but kudoes to all who are saved.

[rodeodance]

3. why does everything have to be war/death language!

[DavidDvorkin]

4. Seems natural when one is talking about cancer!

[THUNDER HANDS]

5. how do they get the little electric chairs in there?

;)

[kysrsoze]

8. I'm going to go out on a limb and say this is good news

Seriously, are we all so negative that we can't have any hope in anything? I would think something like this could be comparable in cost to chemo or radiation therapy.

[drm604]

11. I'm with you.

Some people on here are almost acting like the Repub's straw-man stereotype of Democrats. One starts complaining about corporations, and another complains about "war language". :eyes:

This sounds like it could be very good news, if it bears out in clinical testing. Many of these supposed breakthroughs don't bear out but there's nothing wrong with being a little optimistic.

[MissMillie]

19. I was thinking it was good news too

The cost didn't even enter into my mind until I read some of the other posts.

[zreosumgame]

20. to me anyway, it looks like many folks

see the promise, but have the sinking feeling that whatever this could lead to will either be to late and we blow ourselves up before it can do any good. Or it will be 'religionized' and/or politisized with all the attendant lies, similar to how plan B has been treated. And again it will take decades for it to become useful...

[OKIsItJustMe]

10. Link to study

http://www.nature.com/nchembio/journal/vaop/ncurrent/abs/nchembio814.html

[CornField]

12. Wow! I'll keep my fingers crossed.

Even if this is limit to only certain types of cancer, it will still be a godsend for so many.

[Occulus]

13. It doesn't sound like it's limited to only some types

As I understand the study, what their research does is reactivate the mechanism in cancer cells- a mechanism normally active in healthy cells- which the cancer cells deactivate:

Mutation and aberrant expression of apoptotic proteins are hallmarks of cancer. These changes prevent proapoptotic signals from being transmitted to executioner caspases, thereby averting apoptotic death and allowing cellular proliferation.

This mechanism normally causes a healthy cell to self-destruct if something is amiss in the cell. By reactivating this 'suicide switch', the researchers were able to cause the cancer cells to self-destruct. In this study, the treatment was administered to cells taken from colon tumors.

PAC-1 is the first small molecule known to directly activate procaspase-3 to caspase-3, a transformation that allows induction of apoptosis even in cells that have defective apoptotic machinery.

It is possible there are more methods of achieving this same result. Could cancer one day be reduced to something you take a pill a day for a month to get rid of? If this continues to work with other types of cancer cell, that could be within reach...

[Protagoras]

14. If true this would be so massively huge

that I can't describe it in words. However until it's been put into practical use and actually saves people I'm going to hold off pulling out any pompoms because we have counted way too many chickes before they are hatched.

I remember cold fusion. Wish they had in fact nailed it. Hope they do. Pray this goes that way as well. But I'll want a lot more than 1 article before I celebrate.

Still it is a good sign.

[Tellurian]

15. In a perverted government Good is usually used for Bad/Evil

Thats what I'm afraid of.

I think, I saw Cheney's eyes light up when they uttered the words 'suicide gene'-

ADM has a similar suicide gene (genetically engineered) within their plant seeds making the seeds sterile and unable to reproduce. This new 'gene' within the plant's altered cellular seed structure is accompanied by an ecoli gene and a pesticide resistant gene (only responds to Roundup) These genes occasionally mutate creating another gene to offset their genetic alteration. They haven't found a way to control the mutations yet...or determine what those mutations may be or the harm they can do in humans consumption of their products.

[Behind the Aegis]

16. Seems real progress is being made!

I posted this a few weeks back. From Israel:

Health Scan: Chance discovery can stop cancer in its tracks

<snip>

The approach has been shown to inhibit malignant cells without affecting normal ones, and without the severe side effects of traditional treatments. researchers isolated the malignant tumor from its nutritional and oxygen supplies, thereby halting its growth and stopping metastases from spreading to other parts of the body.

The team - headed by Prof. Oded Shoseyov and including Dr. Levava Roiz, Dr. Patricia Smirnoff and Dr. Betty Schwartz - published their discoveries in the American Cancer Society's journal Cancer.

<snip>

While the researchers were initially interested in the activity of actibind in connection with a horticultural project aimed at improving the quality of peaches and nectarines, an actibind-like protein, RNaseT2, was also found to bind actin in human and animal migrating cells, such as the cells responsible for new blood vessel formation (angiogenesis) in tumors. By blocking the blood supply to the tumors, actibind halted the ability of malignant cells to move through the blood stream to form new metastases. A further benefit is that actibind is not toxic to normal cells.

In lab experiments using cell cultures that originated from human colon cancer, breast cancer and melanoma, increasing the level of actibind was found to reduce the ability of these cells to form tumorogenic colonies. Further experimentation with a variety of animal models showed that increased actibind inhibited the growth of colon cancer-derived tumors, metastases and blood-vessel formation.

<snip>

source

It would be fantastic to see giant leaps in stopping cancer!

[xchrom]

17. until i know otherwise - this is GREAT news.

and hip, hip hooray to anybody this helps.

having had cancer -- this sounds like a wonderful thing to me so far.

[Exiled in America]

18. Once a way can be found to use it as a weapon, we'll be ready to roll!

I mean, come on - if the military could find a way to use it as a weapon, then all the money and resources in the world would be poured into developing what would then be a "duel use" breakthrough.

(all laced with sarcasm)

[pecwae]

21. This is encouraging to me

I'm on my 3rd go 'round and 'executing' some cancer cells sounds good to me.

[midnight]

22. I sure hope you are not talking chemotherapy?

[pecwae]

24. No, 3rd cancer dx.

[truthisfreedom]

23. perhaps they could have used the phrase "self-destructing" rather than

executing, but it does sound like very exciting news.