New Concept for Cancer Treatment

In this article, a team of researchers from five Swedish universities, led by Karolinska Institutet and the Science for Life Laboratory, have identified a new way of treating cancer.  The process was based on inhibiting the enzyme MTH1, which cancer cells require for survival.  Lack of this enzyme results in oxidized nucleotides incorporated into DNA, causing lethal DNA double-strand breaks in cancer cells.  The researchers performing this study presented a general enzymatic activity that all cancers tested rely on and which seems to be independent of the genetic changes found in certain cancers. The team showed that all the investigated cancer tumors needed the MTH1 enzyme to survive.  Normal cells do not require the MTH1 enzyme to survive.  Working towards a clinical application of their findings, they have produced a potent MTH1 inhibitor that selectively kills cancer cells in the tumors that were surgically removed from skin cancer patients.  A tumor from one of the melanoma patients responded very well to the treatment.  There is still a long way to go until they are ready for clinical trials. 
Cancer is a scary disease that kills large numbers of people each year.  Almost everyone knows at least one person that has been affected by cancer.  The funding for cancer research will continue to grow larger the longer we go without a cure.  I believe we are getting closer to a cure every day and cancer research is a very worthwhile cause. 

Original article: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/04/140402133937.htm
To learn more about cancer, visit: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/info/cancer-oncology/