Prostate cancer, breast cancer and enlarged hearts could be getting a new approach to treatment because of a protein called RSK. "When activated, RSK is involved in cell survival, cell proliferation and cell enlargement," according to Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine researchers. RSK reveals properties that contribute to cancer, therefore, controlling RSK could change the face of cancer treatment.
Researched found that a regulatory protein binds to RSK to stop it from progressing beyond its normal rate. The enzyme, PKA, is also associated with the protein that binds to RSK. Hearth rate, heart contractions, blood pressure, hormone release, memory and learning are all the result of PKA maintaing normal body activities. Most importantly however, is how PKA modulated tumor growth and progression.
Since RSK and PKA "compete for binding with the same regulatory protein, they end up modulating each other's activities." The new goal is to keep RSK and PKA in check. Prostate cancer is one of the cancers that could benefit greatly from this research because prostate cancer treatment drugs have many side effects. If a drug can control when RSK is activated, then growths could be avoided.
Prostate cancer involves the malignant (uncontrolled) growth of cells in the prostate gland and is also the second leading cause of death in American men. The deaths however, aren't always specifically due to the prostate cancer itself and the properties of it spreading. Prostate cancer diagnosis and prostate cancer treatment commonly reveal scares of suicide and heart disease.
Changing prostate cancer treatment, could benefit the lives of the 192,280 American men diagnosed last year and help the almost 30,000 men that died. (American Cancer Society) "The implications are widespread, and will also change textbooks for students," said Tarun Patel, PhD, chairman of the Department of Molecular Pharmacology & Therapeutics at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine.
Written by Amy Munday
Huliq.com
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