It seems strange, say researchers, but new evidence from Johns Hopkins shows that cancer cells seem to gain momentum when they switch to a low-energy oxygen mode."There must be a strong advantage to cancer cells to stop using a highly efficient process in favor of one that generates much less energy," according to researcher Gregg Semenza whose findings appear in the May 8 issue of Cancer Cell.
Usually, cancer cells are powered by mitochondria and they use oxygen to create energy. But researchers found when studying Von Hippel-Lindau syndrome (VHL), a genetic disorder causing tumors throughout the body, that VHL switches on a gene that makes cells favor glucose and not oxygen.
A cancer cell's appetite for glucose is very strong and so researchers, scientists at the National Cancer Institute, and pharmaceutical experts are further exploring this phenomenon so it can be useful in cancer therapy.
1. "cancer cells seem to gain momentum when they switch to a low-energy oxygen mode"
Fortunately, the presence of the oxygen makes the cells more vulnerable to certain types of therapy, such as radiation.
Posted at 10:44AM on May 18th 2007 by ChrisB