Protein that drives survival of gastrointestinal tumors identified
Thursday, December 30, 2010 - 11:20
in Health & Medicine
For patients with gastrointestinal stromal tumors, or GISTs, the blockbuster cancer drug Gleevec has been a reason to hope. Since the drug's introduction, survival rates have climbed dramatically and recurrence has fallen by two-thirds. But there's a downside: over time, many patients develop resistance to the drug. Now, scientists have identified a molecule that acts as a survival factor for gastrointestinal tumors, a finding that may lead to next-generation therapies that can pick up where Gleevec leaves off.