Date Published: 11 September 2008
Scientists identify natural tumour suppressor
A team of US scientists has identified a key step in the development of oesophageal cancer that could lead to new treatments.
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine studied human tissue samples and found that an enzyme called Fbx4 prevents the production of a protein called Cyclin D1, which is believed to be involved in the early stages of cancer.
When production of Fbx4 is blocked, Cyclin D1 is not broken down and this enables cancer to develop.
The researchers studied 116 oesophageal tumour samples and identified 16 faults in a particular region of the Fbx1 gene that acts as a switch.
Faults within this region prevent Fbx4 from being switched on, meaning that it is unable to break down Cyclin D1.
Dr J Alan Diehl, associate professor of cancer biology at the University of Pennsylvania's Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute, revealed:
"Cyclin D1 was identified nearly 20 years ago and after that, it became apparent that it was over-expressed in a high percentage of tumours.
But its expression didn't correlate to mutations within Cyclin D1, so we were looking for a protein that regulates accumulation. That's Fbx4."
The findings show that Fbx4 acts as a natural tumour suppressor, preventing Cyclin D1 from building up in cells and triggering cancer.
The researchers published their findings in the journal Cancer Cell and believe that they may be important for finding new treatments for oesophageal cancer, and possibly also for cancers of the breast, head and neck.
Source: Cancer Research UK.
