Reuters: Scientists restore gene to shrink tumors in mice

[OKIsItJustMe]

http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=healthNews&storyid=2007-01-24T204755Z_01_L24297150_RTRUKOC_0_US-CANCER-GENE.xml

Scientists restore gene to shrink tumors in mice

Wed Jan 24, 2007 3:48 PM ET

By Patricia Reaney

LONDON (Reuters) - Reactivating a gene that normally suppresses the growth of tumors may be an effective way to treat cancers, scientists said on Wednesday.

The gene called p53 is a leading tumor suppressor which stops damaged cells from dividing. In the majority of human cancers the gene does not work properly.

But teams of scientists in the United States have shown that reactivating, or restoring the function of the gene, can make certain types of tumors in mice shrink or disappear.

"If we can find drugs that restore p53 function in human tumors in which this pathway is blocked, they may be effective cancer treatments," said David Kirsch of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), a co-author of one of the studies published in the journal Nature.

A fault in the p53 gene is one of many mutations that enable cancers to develop. But the gene is a major player in the disease because it controls a pathway, or chain of events, that helps cells deal with DNA damage.

"If mice and humans respond in the same way to restoration of p53 this could be an important breakthrough," Andrea Ventura, of MIT, said in an interview.

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[thecrow]

1. That's a bif IF

I hope they continue and are successful.

[Lisa0825]

2. This has been studied for many years.

I worked on it as a research assistant at Baylor College of Medicine from 1993 to 95 in one lab, and then again from 95 to 98 in another lab. The trick is finding the right drug to flip the switch, without causing its own problems. I hope they have found more reliable drugs than I worked with, and persistence proves to pay off!