Thursday, September 02, 2010
Explaining “How & Why” Cancer Cells Eat Us Alive
Four key studies now propose a new theory about how cancer cells grow and survive, allowing researchers to design better diagnostics and therapies to target high-risk cancer patients. These studies were conducted by a large team of researchers at Thomas Jefferson University’s Kimmel Cancer Center.
This new idea also explains why so many cancer patients say that “their cancer is eating them alive” – an accurate observation that has never been understood, the researchers say.
These four new studies, co-published in the September issue of the journal Cell Cycle, provide evidence that tumor growth and metastasis is directly “fueled” by normal supporting cells.