New Use for a Cell Toxin Found to Inhibit Survival Proteins in Cancer Cells, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center Study

SEATTLE — July 11, 2007 — A chemically-modified version of a mitochondrial toxin long used to control species of invasive fish in lakes has been found to selectively inhibit two "survival proteins" in cancer cells. The research is a first step toward developing a molecularly-targeted drug that could eliminate cellular-level resistance to multiple types of chemotherapy and radiation therapy found in many types of cancers.