Already-available
drugs could be used to together to treat an aggressive form of lung cancer called non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)
Nearly half of all NSCLC cases are caused by a mutation in the Ras gene, which
was previously though to be untreatable.
But the results demonstrated that by bypassing Ras and using Bortezomib and
Fasudil to affect GATA2, another gene associated in the metabolism of tumour
growth, cancer in the lungs could be reduced by 99 per cent.
Dr Julian Downward, lead author from Cancer Research UK's London Research
Institute, said: "The results we saw in our initial studies were extremely
promising. It's very unusual to see such a striking effect - an organ affected
by cancer almost completely cleared of the disease.
He explained that the Ras genes was one of the most important in cancer
treatment, with nearly a quarter of incidences caused by the mutation. So not
only will this breakthrough help cut the number of lung cancer deaths, but it
could be used to treat other forms of the disease.
© Adfero Ltd
Cancer treatment news : 7 May 2012
