Cancer treatment could be improved following a breakthrough by researchers from Canada.
According to an article published in the journal Nature, the discovery of a new protein involved in the development of approximately a quarter of all cancers could lead to new therapies for the disease.
RAF protein kinase, which regulates cell growth, division and surval, was found to be responsible for 25 per cent of cancers in its mutated form.
The scientists, from Universite de Montreal's Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer and the Samuel Lunefield Research Institute of Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, gained insight into how the protein is activated.
"Now that we have discovered how to turn off the RAF protein without interfering with other proteins, we may be able to design drugs that have unprecedented precision in targeting cancer cells while reducing the toxic side effects for patients," said Dr Sicheri, who co-authored the study.
In other news, the University of Vermont claimed recently that sentinel lymph node resections, which are surgeries given to breast cancer patients, are successful 96.9 per cent of the time.
