Why Do People With Down Syndrome Have Less Cancer? Research In Mice And Human Stem Cells Suggests New Therapeutic Targets
Thursday, May 21, 2009 - 09:21
in Health & Medicine
Most cancers are rare in people with Down syndrome. The late cancer researcher Judah Folkman, M.D., proposed that the extra copy of chromosome 21 may contain a gene that blocks angiogenesis, the development of blood vessels essential for cancer's growth. Now, new research confirms this idea, identifies specific therapeutic targets for treating cancer, and validates her mouse findings using induced pluripotent stem cells derived from a patient with Down syndrome.