New way to stop cancer? Block their recycling system, and tumor cells die
Tuesday, May 8, 2012 - 11:31
in Health & Medicine
All cells have the ability to recycle unwanted or damaged proteins and reuse the building blocks as food. But cancer cells have ramped up the system, called autophagy, and rely on it to escape damage in the face of chemotherapy and other treatments. Now, researchers have developed a potent new drug that clogs up the recycling machinery and kills tumor cells in mouse models.