foodconsumer.org: Cancer stem cells may revolutionize the cancer fight

Cancer stem cells may revolutionize the cancer fight
================================================================================
admin on 06/29/2009 02:43:00
 
By Sheilah Downey
Cancer stem cells may revolutionize the cancer fight
Cancer stem cells, which are the dangerous cells that resist modern treatments,
may hold the key to to changing cancer treatments in the future, say scientists
at the University of Rochester Medical Center.
In an article in Science this week, researchers from the University wrote that
cancer stem cells (CSCs) are a subtype of cancer cells that "may one day provide
an important avenue in controlling cancer."
A hot topic in the scientific community, research has shown that CSCs may be the
root of cancer. Scientists believe they have distinct properties from other
cancer cells and may be the first cells to mutate in tumors.
"Cancer stem cell biologists hypothesize that any treatment that targets the
source of origin rather than simply killing all cells, healthy and malignant,
would be an improvement over most conventional therapies," wrote Drs. Craig
Jordan of URMC and Jeffrey Rosen of Baylor College of Medicine.
Research involving CSCs has steadily heated up over the past five years,
according to a Sept. 11, 2008 article in the Economist.
"Cancer may be caused by stem cells gone bad," states the article. "If that
proves to be correct, it should revolutionise treatment."
Pharmaceutical companies and researchers alike are targeting CSCs in an attempt
to unravel the many mysteries cancer presents. Scientists are optimistic about
the possibilities.
"The fact that these concepts are steadily making their way into the clinic is
exciting, and suggests that the recent interest in cancer stem cells may yield
beneficial outcomes in potentially unexpected ways," wrote the URMC study's
authors.
First identified in 1994 in relation to leukemia studies, CSCs have been
identified in solid tumors in mice as well. Jordan and collaborators are testing
a new drug compound based on the feverfew plant that demonstrates potential for
causing leukemia CSCs to self destruct.
Other new approaches, state the authors, is the use of chemical screens to
search for already approved agents that may target CSCs or to make resistant
tumor cells more sensitive to chemotherapy and radiation treatments.
Research with CSCs is currently being done with pancreatic, lung and breast
cancer stem cells, according to the Economist article.
The pharmaceutical company Merck is working with a drug it originally developed
to treat Alzheimer’s disease.
"Although the drug...did not slow that disease, it does block activity of Notch,
the stem-cell self-renewal gene, and might thus be an appropriate weapon against
breast-cancer stem cells," stated the article.