(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Recycling protects the planet, but now researchers
say recycling on a cellular level might also protect you from cancer.
Stanford University scientists identified a molecule that may revolutionize
cancer treatment, especially for the most common type of kidney cancer, renal
cell carcinoma (RCC). RCCs are almost always caused by a mutation of the von
Hippel-Lindau (VHL) tumor suppressor gene. They have a poor prognosis and don’t
respond well to standard chemotherapies, making finding new therapies necessary.
Researchers discovered the compound STF-62247, which targets RCCs lacking VHL
while leaving normal VHL cells alone. The result could be highly therapeutic.
“Most side effects people associate with chemotherapy, such as nausea and hair
loss, are due to toxic effects of drugs on normal tissues,” senior author Amato
J. Giaccia, Ph.D., a professor of radiation oncology at Stanford University in
Stanford, Calif., was quoted as saying. “Exploiting a feature of cancer cells
should spare the normal tissue and decrease these awful side effects,” he
explained.
The compound STF-62247 activates autophagy in VHL-deficient cells, a recycling
process used by cells to conserve resources during times of stress. “Increasing
evidence implicates a role for autophagy in cancer, but it is not well
understood how cellular and environmental cues drive autophagic cells down
survival or death pathways,” Dr. Giaccia said.
SOURCE: Cancer Cell, 2008;14:90-102
