A multi-national research team led by the Melbourne Branch of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research has identified a potential new target for stomach cancer therapy, according to a paper published today.
Professor Brendan Jenkins and his colleagues from the Ludwig Instiute for Cancer Research, Melbourne has identified a particular potential new target which can be targeted for stomach cancer therapy. The result has been published in Nature Medicine Journal.Dr. Brendan Jenkins says that this single study has made several substantial contributions to the understanding of Stat3, the protein linking those ‘genes behaving badly’ and central to development, tissue equilibrium and the immune system. “We showed that, in mice, hyperactive Stat3 shuts down a vital controller of stomach cell growth, called TGF beta, and this allows cancer formation, and this mechanistic link is a world-first. Also, the gene differences identified in human stomach cancers are similar to those we would predict if the same thing, Stat3 hyperactivity shutting down TGF, happens in humans. So this is also the first time a connection between stomach cancer and this signaling pathway has been made.”
It is found that these basic research findings demonstrates that by lowering the Stat3 hyperactivity, we can suppress stomach cancer formation, importantly without affecting Stat3’s other important roles in the body. Add to that the evidence suggesting that Stat3 is also involved in breast, head and neck, and prostate cancers, and we have a compelling case for investigating the development of therapies that target Stat3.”
(Source: Newswise)
More information on Stomach cancer in Medindia: Surgery is the most common treatment for stomach cancer. The operation is called gastrectomy. The surgeon removes part (subtotal or partial gastrectomy) or all (total gastrectomy) of the stomach, as well as some of the tissue around the stomach. After a subtotal gastrectomy, the doctor connects the remaining part of the stomach to the esophagus or the small intestine. After a total gastrectomy, the doctor connects the esophagus directly to the small intestine.
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