Deadly lung cancer may be treatable

British scientists have identified a molecule essential for the spread of a serious type of lung cancer, a finding that could lead to the development of new drugs to fight the disease.

Researchers at Hammersmith Hospital in London and Imperial College London say the molecule is abundant in small-cell lung cancer cells and controls signals allowing tumours to grow and spread.

Small-cell accounts for about 20 per cent of all lung cancer cases and is particularly difficult to treat because it does not respond to chemotherapy. Ninety-seven per cent of patients die within five years of diagnosis.

"The function of this molecule was not understood," said Professor Michael Seckl, who headed the Hammersmith team. "We found that it appears to be critical for several different growth factors stimulating the enlargement of tumours.

"If we can knock that molecule out, we are knocking out the growth signal for a variety of growth factors."

Professor Seckl suspects that the molecule may also be found in unusually large quantities in other types of cancer.

"We've shown that the molecule is important for the growth and the division of the cell.

"We would like to identify new therapies that target the cancer in a different way or identify why the cancer has become resistant so you can make the existing therapies work."

Scientists had known about the molecule, called PI3KC2 beta, but until now they did not understand how it was involved in the spread of small-cell lung cancer.

Cancer cells grow when growth factors attach to receptors on the outside of the cell and send signals to the cell nucleus telling it to divide. Many growth factors can be involved, so targeting just one with a drug is likely to be ineffective.

Professor Seckl and his colleagues discovered that the molecule mediates the signals from several growth factors, making it a potential drug target.

The scientists hope that in five to 10 years a treatment targeting this molecule will be available.

- REUTERS

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