New discovery on treating cancer, it has the potential to halt cancer!

The researchers in the University of Iowa made a discovery that could be beneficial, in containing cancer and preventing it from spreading. The found an amoeba in soil that shares the same characteristics as PTEN (phosphatase and tensin homolog. This protein-coded gene is essential to fighting tumors.  According to David Sol, “If you look at tumors across the board- and that doesn’t mean just breast cancer pr prostate cancer- you find that PTEN is the most generally mutated gene. And when you mutate PTEN in mice, you cause tumors.” The PTEN genes can be found in a large Varity of cancer such as; breast and prostate cancer, that means it worth looking into if they all share a common linked to this gene. Although there is a drawback, the PTEN is only beneficial in a healthy state, if the gene were to mutate then it would cause more harm then good. If the PTEN were to mutate which is likely to occur, then the cancerous cells would spread more rapidly and accelerate the tumor process.

A normal PTEN gene (top) as compared to a mutated PTEN gene (bottom)    

I believe that this is remarkable work that is a large step forward to having cancer cells under control. By using our own body gene that is found in the Homo sapiens, to prevent cancer cell from spreading, and could possibly lead to the next step of being able to remove theses cells if possible. What more remarkable is the fact that these ameoba were always present and it was just only a matter of time until researchers would discover them, which lead you to think what else the human body can do that scientist are not aware of yet.   

Article:http://medicalxpress.com/news/2014-10-cancer-biologists-gene-tumors-tracks.html

Related Articlehttp://www.futurity.org/cancer-amoeba-genes-782162/