August 13, 2009

comment on new research into cancer stem cells, as published in the journal Cell

Researchers in the US have discovered a compound, salinomycin, can be used to kill the cells that cause cancer cells to grow and are implicated in cancer regrowth. The tests were carried out on breast cancer stem cells in mice, but may have implications for other types of cancer and may lead to the development of new drugs.

Dr John Stingl, group leader in mammary stem cell biology at Cancer Research UK’s Cambridge Research Institute, said:

“This is one of the biggest advances we have seen this year in this area of research. These scientists have demonstrated that it’s possible to selectively target the rare cancer stem cells that drive tumour growth. This research also introduces a completely new way of identifying cancer drugs. The challenge for the future is to bring this class of drugs to the clinic and to identify the patients that are likely to respond to them.”

Dr Kat Arney, Cancer Research UK’s senior science information officer, said:

“Finding ways to target cancer stem cells is a vital part of efforts to beat cancer. This is an important piece of research, as it reveals a way to test for chemicals that can act on stem cells, as well as highlighting a potential new cancer drug. But at the moment, this work is still at an early stage, and there are a number of technical hurdles to be overcome before we know if the findings can be applied to patients with breast cancer.”

Jackie Graveney, spokesperson for Breast Cancer Campaign, said:

“These promising results indicate that breast cancer stem cells, which experts believe are responsible for the disease recurring, can be destroyed by this drug. However, this research is at a very early stage and we look forward to results from future studies.”