Australian Scientists 'Silence' Cancer Gene

This new treatment claims to treat the cancer by 'gene silencing.

' This process apparently turns off a single gene in a cancer cell responsible for the continued development and spread of the cancer. This means that the other genes are left unharmed. If successful, this new method promises to beat the conventional methods of treating cancer which include radiation and chemotherapy. These two treatments lead to unnecessary hair-loss and nausea. Lead researcher Nigel McMillan said that such gene silencing treatments are about three years away from becoming the norm. Dr Ian Frazer, whose team developed the cervical cancer vaccine hailed the achievement of Dr McMillan's team as 'a significant step towards developing gene therapy for cervical cancer.' The University of Queensland's Centre for Immunology and Cancer Research based at Princess Alexandra Hospital says that the treatment could revolutionize the treatment of other cancers as well, but was three years away from human trials. 'Our research shows not only can we stop cervical cancer cells from growing in the test tube, but we can also completely eliminate the formation of cancer tumors in the animal models,' Dr McMillan said. As of now, his team has turned off the cancer genes in a test tube and in a laboratory mouse.