Gene Therapy To Knock Out the Tools of Cancer
A growing tumor is successful in its fight to kill the aging body that hosts it by evolving its way into the set of mutations that best help its growth - but what if we could remove the best and most obvious tools from the cancer growth toolkit? Progress in that direction can be found at the Independent: "Doctors often describe cancer as a genetic disease because of the role played by genes in causing the uncontrolled proliferation of a cancerous cell into a tumour. The radical approach is to use molecules of RNA - a substance similar to a gene's DNA - to 'silence' or switch off certain key genes known to be involved in the growth of tumours. One team [has] shown in a laboratory study that it is possible to use large molecules of RNA to switch off a gene responsible for an enzyme called dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR), which is essential for the rapid proliferation of tumour cells. Another team [has] used smaller molecules of RNA in an animal study to switch off a separate gene known to be involved in the rapid growth of brain tumours."
Link: http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/health_medical/article2175040.ece