Mutated FGFR4 protein helps a childhood cancer spread

Rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) is a childhood cancer thought to originate from skeletal muscle. In patients whose disease has spread (metastasised) from the initial tumour site the chance of long-term survival is poor. Hopes for a therapy for such patients are not high, as little is known about the factors that control tumour progression and metastasis. However, Javed Khan and colleagues, at the National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, have now determined that the protein FGFR4 has a role in RMS progression and have data suggesting that it might be a good drug target for the treatment of individuals with RMS...

Read the whole article on

More from