Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, have discovered that cells carrying the most common mutation found in human cancer accumulate large amounts of ferrous iron and that this "ferroaddiction" can be exploited to specifically deliver powerful anticancer drugs without harming normal, healthy cells.
Cancer cells iron addiction may enable specific drug targeting miragenews.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from miragenews.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
New radiotracer opens the door for advancement of iron-targeted cancer therapies
A new radiotracer that detects iron in cancer cells has proven effective, opening the door for the advancement of iron-targeted therapies for cancer patients. The radiotracer, 18F-TRX, can be used to measure iron concentration in tumors, which can help predict whether a not the cancer will respond to treatment. This research was published in the July issue of the
Journal of Nuclear Medicine.
All cancer cells have an insatiable appetite for iron, which provides them the energy they need to multiply. As a result, tumors have higher levels of iron than normal tissues. Recent advances in chemistry have led scientists to take advantage of this altered state, targeting the expanded cytosolic labile iron pool (LIP) of the cancer cell to develop new treatments.
Novel imaging agent identifies biomarker for iron-targeted cancer therapies eurekalert.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from eurekalert.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.