January 13, 2000
Turning Off the Cancer Switch
UAB scientists are hoping to turn off the "master switch" that is thought to cause juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia (JMML). In a study published in this week's issue of the journal Blood, they describe two agents that act to inhibit the Ras protein, a master switch within cells that turns growth on and off. The protein is mutated in JMML and several other forms of cancer.
"The results of these tests form the basis for the use of this type of compound in a new therapeutic protocol we are now developing with sponsorship from the National Cancer Institute and pediatric oncology cooperative groups," said hematologist-oncologist Peter Emanuel, M.D., one of the authors.
Call Hank Black, Media Relations, 205-934-8938 or e-mail [email protected].
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