Scientists Report On Promising New Approaches To Induce Cancer Cell Suicide

In cancer, the normal process by which cells die is defective. Researchers are reporting today on three new approaches to activate cancer cells' ability to commit suicide. In one set of studies, scientists employed a series of molecular and gene therapy tricks to convert an angiogenic protein used by tumors to promote their growth into a cancer cell killer. In separate study, scientists used a fragment of genetic material to disable a protein used by many tumor types as an "off switch" to prevent cell death, triggering cancer cell suicide. A third study focused on a novel inhibitor to improve responses to central nervous system tumor therapy. The findings were presented today at the International Conference on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics organized by the American Association of Cancer Research (AACR), National Cancer Institute (NCI) and European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) in Boston.

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