A British Columbia team of researchers have discovered that a gene, HACE1, can greatly limit the growth of tumors. This is promising research because HACE1 can influence many kinds of cancerous tumors.
Scientists at the BC Cancer Agency have discovered a gene they believe can suppress the growth of tumours for a wide variety of cancers – a discovery that could lead to new treatments.
This is groovy that two teams of scientist who worked independently reached the same basic conclusion. Also, they found the cell type that contributes to colon cancer which will make looking for a cure easier.
“Two groups, working independently, showed that a subpopulation of CD133+ cells within the tumor, representing just a small fraction of the overall cancer mass, behave as cancer-initiating cells, with the ability to maintain themselves in culture in an undifferentiated state, initiate tumor growth after xenotransplantation in mice, and differentiate into cancers that are phenotypically indistinguishable from the original human tumor.”