- Regarding this BBC News report, October 10, 2004........
-
- For more than a century a small group of researchers,
including myself, have implicated bacteria in cancer (see my book, THE
CANCER MICROBE, Aries Rising Press). Now it turns out that a common antibiotic
-- doxycycline -- can turn off a gene in mice that leads to liver cancer.
-
- Let's hope it doesn't take another century for scientists
and physicians to follow up on this, and to explain why they keep ignoring
cancer-causing bacteria. For more information on "cancer microbes"
-- go to google.com and type in those exact words.
-
- Regards,
- Alan Cantwell, M.D.
-
- Antibiotic Can 'Turn Off Cancer'
-
- BBC News
- 10-10-4
-
- Scientists have shown that a common antibiotic can turn
off cancer cells in mice, offering hope of new treatments for cancer patients.
-
- The antibiotic worked by turning off a gene called Myc,
which is known to trigger cancer.
-
- Mice remained cancer free for as long as they took the
drug. When it was stopped they developed liver cancer, the Stanford University
team found.
-
- Cancer experts said the Nature study held promise for
human cancer drugs.
-
- Cancer Switch
-
- The findings might also apply to cancers of the breast,
bowel and prostate, the researchers hope.
-
- This is because all of these cancers, as well as liver
cancer, begin in cells that line the body called epithelial cells.
-
- According to Cancer Research UK, the gene may contribute
to as many as one in seven cancer deaths.
-
- The Stanford scientists studied mice whose liver cells
had been altered to carry a modified Myc gene known to cause cancer.
-
- Myc controls cell division. Unlike the normal version
of the gene, the modified version stayed permanently switched on, meaning
cells were constantly dividing and some became cancerous.
-
- Feeding the mice the antibiotic doxycyline turned the
faulty Myc gene off so cancer growth was blocked.
-
- When the researchers stopped the doxycycline the mice
developed aggressive liver cancer.
-
- Reintroducing doxycycline into their feed not only turned
Myc back off, blocking further cancer growth, but it also turned the cancer
cells back to normal.
-
- Reversing Cancer
-
- Lead researcher Dr Dean Felsher said: "The exciting
thing is you can turn cancer cells into something that appears to be normal."
-
- But he said even though the cells looked normal, they
still had the ability to become cancerous if the antibiotic were to be
stopped.
-
- This could explain why some cancers come back after people
have had chemotherapy, he said.
-
- "This is a terrible cancer. Anything that is encouraging
in liver cancer may be important," he said.
-
- Dr Elaine Vickers, science information officer for Cancer
Research UK, said: "The Myc gene is known to be overactive in many
types of cancer.
-
- "Estimates suggest that the gene may contribute
to as many as one in seven cancer deaths.
-
- "This research is very interesting.
-
- "It adds to the weight of evidence suggesting that
drugs blocking Myc might be effective cancer treatments in the future."
-
-
- http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/health/3726124.stm
-
- © BBC MMIV
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