Blocking a Single Protein Proves Toxic to Myeloma Cells in National Institutes of Health (NIH) Studies

NIH -- Researchers have found that cells from a blood-borne cancer called multiple myeloma rely on the activity of a single protein, called IRF4, for the activation of a wide range of genes responsible for cell survival and spread. Blocking the production of this protein can be strikingly effective in eliminating cancer cells in laboratory models of multiple myeloma. Scientists at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), published their results in the June 22, 2008, issue of Nature, which highlight this potentially powerful new therapeutic target in multiple myeloma.