Here’s one story that shows why philanthropy is so important… Thanks to English researchers who have identified the cancer-spreading capabilities of the WWP2 gene, a new drug that stops the spread of cancer could be on the market within the next decade.
Scientists at the University of East Anglia have determined that WWP2 attacks and breaks down the body’s natural inhibitor that prevents cancer cells from spreading.
Currently, there is no known drug that can stop the spread of cancer in its tracks. However, the English researchers believe that the biological processes revealed in their recent study have already given them some direction for formulating a drug that keeps cancer cells dormant. Finding this new drug that gets inside cancer cells and destroys the activity of the rogue WWP2 gene is now what they are focused on.
The researchers said that, if discovered, a drug that inhibits WWP2 would be effective in treating all types of cancer. The drug would not allow the process of metastasis, the spread of the original cancer to other tissues and organs, to take place. This would surely save millions of lives over the long-term, and it would put an emphasis on identifying cancer before it spreads.
Several UK-based charities contributed to the groundbreaking discovery of WWP2’s destructive capabilities: The Association of International Cancer Research (AICR), with support from the Big C Charity and the British Skin Foundation. The discovery did not exactly happen by accident, but as a result of research that was being performed on a group of natural cancer cell inhibitors called “Smads.”
A scientific coordinator for the AICR said the findings are a perfect example of how basic cancer research can open up ways to develop new ways to treat cancer. Although many new, expensive drugs have been introduced to the market to add weeks or months to the lives of cancer patients, the English study may eventually add a countless number of years to the lives of millions of people who will eventually be diagnosed with cancer.
The study also goes to show that, although billions of dollars are pumped into medical research for cancer and other diseases, it only takes one important discovery to potentially change history and extend our life expectancy. Hopefully we will refer back to this English study many times in the future.
The study was published this week in the journal Oncogene under the title “Selective targeting of activating and inhibitory Smads by distinct WWP2 ubiquitin ligase isoforms differentially modulates TGFβ signalling and EMT.”
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