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Discovery May Lead To New Cancer Therapies

Dec 16, 2009 | Staff | The Post-Chronicle

Canadian researchers have made a discovery that might lead to new non-toxic, targeted therapies for metastatic breast and ovarian cancers.

The researchers at the University of British Columbia found a protein called podocalyxin -- which had previously shown to be a predictor of metastatic breast cancer -- changes the shape and adhesive quality of tumor cells, affecting their ability to grow and metastasize.

The discovery demonstrates the protein not only predicts the spread of breast cancer cells, it likely helps cause it.

"We believe we've found a new important culprit in metastatic breast cancer, which opens up an entirely new avenue of cancer research," said Calvin Roskelley, an associate professor of cellular and physiological science and co-senior principal investigator. "The culprit is hiding in plain sight on the surface of tumor cells, so we are now developing 'smart' molecules to block its function.

"The ultimate goal," he added, "is to generate new targeted, non-toxic treatments very different from the standard 'slash and burn' chemotherapy."

The findings were recently published online by the Public Library of Science.