Weapon to fight cancer

The fight against cancer has just acquired an Indian edge. Five NRI scientists have discovered what may turn out to be a potent new weapon against colon cancer.

The fight against cancer has just acquired an Indian edge. Five NRI scientists have discovered what may turn out to be a potent new weapon against colon cancer.

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Satish Srivastava and his colleagues — Ravinder Tammali, Kota V Ramana, Sharad S Singhal and Sanjay Awasthi — from the University of Texas, USA, succeeded in stopping the growth of cancerous cells in colons of mice by halting the activity of a single enzyme called aldose reductase.

Blocking this enzyme shuts down the toxic network of biochemical signals that promotes inflammation and colon cancer cell growth, the scientists reported in the latest issue of the journal Cancer Research.

The researchers, however, pointed out that the gap between a brand new procedure that works in mice and one that works in humans is considerable.