Tech | August 31, 2008 | 8 comments

The catch-all cancer drug to target every type of tumour

source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1051179/The-catch-cancer-drug-target-type-tumour.html

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EddieStarr
"A breakthrough in cancer research could lead to a 'one-size-fits-all' drug that can tackle all forms of the disease. Scientists have unravelled the secrets of an enzyme called telomerase, which makes cancer cells immortal. This allows them to multiply uncontrollably and cause disease.

The discovery paves the way for the creation of drugs that block the enzyme, stopping tumour growth. Telomerase is at work in almost all human cancers. So a drug, or family of drugs such as this, could have a major impact in the treatment of the disease.

The researchers, from the Wistar Institute, in Philadelphia, have deciphered the structure of a key part of telomerase. In healthy cells, the enzyme is all but switched off, and the cells multiply a set number of times before dying, a fundamental part of the ageing process.

But, in up to 90 per cent of cancers, the enzyme is activated, allowing runaway cell division and tumour growth. Solving the compound's structure will allow scientists to design drugs that deactivate the enzyme and halt the cancer.

By targeting cancerous cells it is likely such medicines would be free of the side-effects such as pain, hair loss and nausea associated with conventional treatments. Previous attempts to make telomerase-blocking drugs have been thwarted by lack of knowledge about the enzyme.

Decoding the mysteries of telomerase could also pave the way for therapies to combat ageing and age-related diseases. Switching on telomerase in a controlled, safe way, could, in theory, produce younger, healthier and longer living tissue..."
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