Scientists have pieced together the process by which the energy producing part of cells can allow cancer to grow. Experts from Cancer Research UK in Glasgow studied cell mitochondria which generate energy and growth in cells. They found that a build-up of a metabolic molecule in them could start a sequence leading to tumour growth. A leading cancer scientist said the study would prove helpful in understanding cancer and ways of tackling it. Researchers based at the University of Glasgow’s Beatson Institute for Cancer Research have published their findings in the latest edition of Cancer Cell. Scientists said that some genes which code for the energy producing mechanism in mitochondria act to suppress tumours. However, defects in these genes within the complex structures can result in cancer.
