Scientists find cell that cause cancer

Scientists find cell that cause cancer

Discovery by local researchers to shape diagnosis prevention treatment of cervical cancer.

Singapore- Scientists here have discovered a set of cells in the womb that causes human papillomavirus (HPVs) or HPV related cervical cancers.

These findings have immense clinical implications in the diagnosis, prevention as well as the treatment of cervical cancer according to the scientists.

It raises, for example, the distinct possibility that removing this set of cells could reduce young women's risks of cervical cancer.

The cells do not regenerate when excised. The findings also mean scientists could have a way of distinguishing potentially dangerous pre-cancerous lexions from benign ones, as the set of cells have unique biomarkers seen in all forms of invasive cervical cancers linked to HPV .

Infection with HPV is the most common cause or risk factor for cervical cancer, the seventh most common female cancer in Singapore.

About 200 cases are diagnosed every year.

The study was conducted by scientists from the agency for Science, Technology and Researcher’s Institute of Medical Biology and Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS) and clinicians from Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH).

Their research was published this week in the prestigious journal, proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Dr. Christopher Crum, Director of Women’s and Perinatal Pathology in the Department of Pathology in the Department of Pathology at BWH, said: “It has been a decades-old mystery why cervical cancers caused by HPV arise only from a discrete region of the cervix, known as the ‘squamo columnar junction’, despite the presence of the virus throughout the genital tract.

“The discovery of these cells finally resolves this mystery and will have wide-ranging impact, from developing more meaningful animal models of early cervical carcinogenesis to clinical implications.”

Added Dr. Frank Mckeon, Senior Group Leader at Genome Institute of Singapore: “Our previous work on esophageal cancer opened up the possibility of ‘preventive therapy’ to stamp out the disease by eliminating this small group of cells.

“This recent work in the cervix further validates this concept and raises important possibilities for early intervention to prevent malignancies linked to very small populations of these unusual, discrete population of cells.”


source: www.channelnewsasia.com