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http://www.plastic.com/article.html;sid=06/08/31/11592203;cmt=17
Could a cure for cancer finally be in reach? Recent cancer research seems to have been particularly fruitful in a variety of ways. For example, a compound called procaspase activating compound ("PAC-1") causes cancerous cells to kill themselves. When ordinary cells reach the end of their useful life, internal mechanisms kick in and the cells die, a process known as apoptosis. In cancer cells this mechanism has been genetically disabled or otherwise broken, allowing tumors to proliferate. Near the end of any cell's life, the chemical procaspase-3 is activated. This chemical then transforms into caspase-3, an "executioner" enzyme that terminates the cell. Scientists have now discovered how to activate the procaspase-3 in cancer cells to induce apoptosis. In lung cancer experiments with PAC-1, control mice ended up riddled with tumors, but in the treated lungs there was hardly any sign of tumors. Moreover, the treatment worked when the drug was given orally, suggesting it could work as a pill and so be easy to administer.
But that's not the only recent advance. A grocery list of vegetables including ginger, hot peppers and cauliflower show promise as cancer-combating agents. Phenethyl-isothiocyanate, or PEITC, released when people chew vegetables like cauliflower, broccoli, and cabbage, caused prostate cancer cells to kill themselves. Capsaicin, the chemical that makes hot peppers hot, induced apoptosis in mice with human pancreatic cancer, an aggressive and usually fatal disease. Ginger kills ovarian cancer cells in vitro by inducing the cells to cannabalize themselves ("autophagy"). Pomegranate juice has been shown to be effective in treatment of prostate cancer, and may even prevent cancer in men who've never had it. And a cream based on green tea may fend off skin cancer.
A class of compounds extracted from the Australian shrub Acacia victoriae could be part of the next wave of cancer-preventing drugs. Avicins reduce the appearance of tumors in mice exposed to carcinogens and interfere with proteins that can cause cancers. Even the herpes simplex virus may have used in combating cancer. A team at the University of Glasgow has mutated the herpes virus so that it can only replicate only in tumor cells, leaving ordinary cells alone. Research with somatostatin, vitamin A retinoids, melatonin, vitamin D, bromocriptine, and cyclophosphamide suggests some lung cancers may respond to this treatment, with minimal risk of side effects. Also, new genetic research has led to a breakthrough in understanding of breast cancer, and may lead to more advances in fighting the disease. One way or another, it looks like cancer may finally be on the verge of meeting its match.
Could a cure for cancer finally be in reach? Recent cancer research seems to have been particularly fruitful in a variety of ways. For example, a compound called procaspase activating compound ("PAC-1") causes cancerous cells to kill themselves. When ordinary cells reach the end of their useful life, internal mechanisms kick in and the cells die, a process known as apoptosis. In cancer cells this mechanism has been genetically disabled or otherwise broken, allowing tumors to proliferate. Near the end of any cell's life, the chemical procaspase-3 is activated. This chemical then transforms into caspase-3, an "executioner" enzyme that terminates the cell. Scientists have now discovered how to activate the procaspase-3 in cancer cells to induce apoptosis. In lung cancer experiments with PAC-1, control mice ended up riddled with tumors, but in the treated lungs there was hardly any sign of tumors. Moreover, the treatment worked when the drug was given orally, suggesting it could work as a pill and so be easy to administer.
But that's not the only recent advance. A grocery list of vegetables including ginger, hot peppers and cauliflower show promise as cancer-combating agents. Phenethyl-isothiocyanate, or PEITC, released when people chew vegetables like cauliflower, broccoli, and cabbage, caused prostate cancer cells to kill themselves. Capsaicin, the chemical that makes hot peppers hot, induced apoptosis in mice with human pancreatic cancer, an aggressive and usually fatal disease. Ginger kills ovarian cancer cells in vitro by inducing the cells to cannabalize themselves ("autophagy"). Pomegranate juice has been shown to be effective in treatment of prostate cancer, and may even prevent cancer in men who've never had it. And a cream based on green tea may fend off skin cancer.
A class of compounds extracted from the Australian shrub Acacia victoriae could be part of the next wave of cancer-preventing drugs. Avicins reduce the appearance of tumors in mice exposed to carcinogens and interfere with proteins that can cause cancers. Even the herpes simplex virus may have used in combating cancer. A team at the University of Glasgow has mutated the herpes virus so that it can only replicate only in tumor cells, leaving ordinary cells alone. Research with somatostatin, vitamin A retinoids, melatonin, vitamin D, bromocriptine, and cyclophosphamide suggests some lung cancers may respond to this treatment, with minimal risk of side effects. Also, new genetic research has led to a breakthrough in understanding of breast cancer, and may lead to more advances in fighting the disease. One way or another, it looks like cancer may finally be on the verge of meeting its match.
