Scientists identify cells that lead to reti...( (Toronto - June 14 2004) - Scientists...)

(Toronto - June 14, 2004) - Scientists at Toronto Western Hospital have discovered the specific cells in the eye that develop into retinoblastoma, the most common eye cancer in young children. The research suggests that these cells already have cancer-like properties, a finding that explains why retinoblastoma occurs in children while other cancers such as colon and lung cancer occur in adults, developing after decades. Featured as the cover story in the June issue of Cancer Cell, this discovery paves the way for developing new treatments for retinoblastoma that target these first cancerous cells, thereby avoiding the difficult side effects that patients suffer from treatments such as radiation therapy and chemotherapy.

"From the first cancerous cell to the malignant tumour, there are a chain of events that must occur for a person to develop cancer, which must overcome each one of the body's natural protective barriers that guard against tumour growth," explains Dr. Rod Bremner, the study's lead author and senior scientist with the division of Cell and Molecular Biology at the Toronto Western Research Institute, the research arm of Toronto Western Hospital. He is also affiliated with the hospital's Vision Science Research Program, and is associate professor with the department of Ophthalmolgy and Vision Science at the University of Toronto. "For a number of years, it's been known that retinoblastoma develops more quickly and with fewer number of events than typical adult cancers, but until now, it wasn't clear why."

Dr. Bremner and his colleagues discovered that the genetic mutation associated with retinoblastoma removes some of body's protective barriers at a cellular level. The result is that specific retinal cells are predisposed to becoming tumours since they already have tumour-like properties, including the ability to bypass cell death - a special mechanism that causes cells to self-destruct if they begin dividing uncontrollably, as happens w
'"/>

Contact: Jennifer Kohm
jennifer.kohm@uhn.on.ca
416-603-5323
University of Toronto
14-Jun-2004

Page: 1 2
Related biology news :

1. Scientists to prototype cyberinfrastructure for research and education access to ocean observatories
2. Scientists sequence genome of kind of organism central to biospheres carbon cycle
3. Scientists find nanowires capable of detecting individual viruses
4. Scientists discover potential new way to control drug-resistant bacteria
5. Scientists explore genome of methane-breathing microbe
6. Scientists decipher genetic code of biothreat pathogen
7. Stuck on you: Scientists lay bare secrets of bacterial attachment proteins
8. Scientists discover proteins involved in spread of HIV-1 infection
9. Scientists fear new Ebola outbreak may explain sudden gorilla disappearance
10. Scientists reinvent DNA as template to produce organic molecules
11. Scientists visualise cellular handmaiden that restores shape to proteins