Gene May Be Good Target for Tough-to-Kill Prostate Cancer Cells, Purdue University Study

Purdue University scientists believe they have found an effective target for killing late-stage, metastatic prostate cancer cells. Xiaoqi Liu, an assistant professor of biochemistry and member of Purdue's Center for Cancer Research, and graduate student Shawn Liu are focusing on the function of a gene called Polo-like kinase (Plk1), a critical regulator of the cell cycle. Plk1 is also an oncogene, which tends to mutate and can cause cancer.