'Starving' cancer cells key to new tumour treatments

Australian scientists believe that 'starving' cancer cells could be the key to prevent the growth of tumours.

A study believes starving cancer cells could be the key to prevent the growth of tumours, paving the way for the development of new cancer-beating drugs. Scientists at the Australian National University (ANU) on Friday said they found and blocked a vital supply route that cancer cells use to obtain nutrients and grow. Did you know, cancer cells use amino acids as fuel to proliferate the body?

Professor Stefan Broer said his team identified the gateways through which cancer cells feed , blocked them and then found the cells almost completely stopped growing, in a discovery which could revolutionize chemotherapy and save lives. Read: Cancer cells switch to a different mode during treatment. This should lead to chemotherapy with much less serious side-effects, as normal cells do not use glutamine as a building material, Xinhua news agency quoted Broer as saying. Here is everything you need to know about latest advances in cancer treatment.

Crucial white blood cells, which current treatments damage, could be spared, and it could cut out the hair loss that chemotherapy causes. He said that most cancer research undertaken currently is focused on one particular strain of cancer cell, whereas his team's discovery could be used to stop the growth of hundreds of different cancer types. Did you know, green tea kills oral cancer cells? Broer's team initially identified one gateway which it blocked by disabling the cells' glutamine transport mechanism , but the cancer found another way to feed on nutrients. The team then found and blocked a second gateway and the cancer cells stopped growing. Other than this,Scientists aim to control cancer cell growth with electrical mechanisms. (Read: Worried about cancer? Eat these 9 foods)