The researchers identified a key supply route that diseased cells manipulate, to obtain nutrients. According to a report in the mailonline, the discovery could herald new treatments that act to stop the growth of tumours.
It is estimated that about two million cancer cases are reported in Nigeria with over 100,000 new cases recorded annually. Available statistics show that cancer killed 7.6 million persons in 2008 worldwide, and there is indication that the figure could double to 13 million by 2030.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), cancer accounts for 13 per cent of all deaths registered globally and 70 per cent of that figure occurs in middle and low income countries.
In Nigeria, about 10,000 cancer deaths are recorded annually while 100,000 new cases are recorded yearly. To arrive at their findings, which showed that cutting off vital nutritional supply lines could tackle cancer, a team from The Australian National University, blocked gateways through which the cancer cell was obtaining the amino acid glutamine.
They found the cells almost completely stopped growing. Professor Stefan Bröer, who led the study, said: ‘This is likely to work in a wide range of cancers, because it is a very common mechanism in cancer cells.’
“Better still, this should lead to chemotherapy with much less serious sideeffects, as normal cells do not use glutamine as a building material. “Crucial white blood cells, which current treatments damage, could be spared, and it could cut out the hair loss that chemotherapy causes.
There are 917 different types of cancer currently identified, and many cures work only for a single type of the disease. Futher more, many treatments are rendered ineffective as cancers develop resistance to chemotherapy.
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