Our genes could hold the secret to why some cancerous tumours stop being sensitive to medications, causing them to grow larger. New research by the Netherlands Cancer Institute has identified changes in our genetics that prevent medication from working as well as it could.
Treatments
Chemotherapy and other drugs designed to kill cancer cells can be very effective, helping us to return to wellness by getting rid of the disease in our bodies. Scientists are constantly researching the condition to find ways to fight it and produce more medicines that effectively boost our wellbeing.
One challenge associated with making medicines to target tumours is that cancer cells sometimes become immune to drug treatments, so lumps continue to grow and endanger the health of patients. Now, the institute in the Netherlands has identified genes that when they are turned off lead to drug resistance in cancerous cells.
Genetics
While studying the effects of another gene, the researchers discovered that when gene MED12 is deactivated, a process referred to as TGF-beta signalling begins. This is another way of describing cell division that leads to cancerous growths. Although scientists in the past have known about drug resistance in tumours, this study sheds more light on the individual genes involved.
Researchers were looking into the effects of these genes in terms of lung cancer, but found this deactivation process is similar for the majority of cancers. Cancer Research UK scientist Ultan McDermott explained that the study is “really significant” to creating medicines to cure people from the disease. Clinicians are already attempting to develop medicines that interfere with TGF-beta signalling cell division. Research into preventing cells dividing in this way, combined with knowledge of the specific genes involved could lead to more effective medicines and treatments that help us recover from the disease quicker.
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