Seeking Targets

Cancer forms when cell division [the process of making new cells] goes out of control. Current treatment for some cancers, particularly brain tumours, doesn't always stop cell division and the cancer comes back. So the search is on for different therapies. When developing new treatments, however, where should scientists start? Here we can see a slice from a glioblastoma – the most common form of brain tumour – stained with fluorescent proteins. The aggressively dividing tumour cells all share a protein called NG2 (stained green). This protein is already known to play a role in cell division but it’s now implicated in two further key steps to cancer. NG2 helps cells spread to other body regions, while also fostering the formation of new blood vessels that nourish the tumour. Blocking NG2 with drug therapy may present a new opportunity to improve patient survival.

Written by Julie Webb

Julie Webb

Writer

Julie began her career as a researcher in genetics. In 2000 she won a Wellcome Trust award for her work on a collaborative science drama, staged at the Edinburgh Festival. She now works as a freelance science writer and communicator.

• Talal F. Al-Mayhani
• Colin Watts
• Reprinted with permission from Oxford University Press
• Published in Neuro-Oncology