Scientists at Mayo Clinic Florida said Tuesday they have found the abnormal gene responsible for lung cancer development.

Their research, which appears in the Oct. 1 issue of Cancer Research, indicates that PKCiota, an oncogene that cancer cells use to grow, is necessary for the proliferation of lung cancer stem cells.

“Lung cancer stem cells appear to be the major drivers in many common lung cancers, and in order for a therapeutic treatment to be effective, it has to disrupt these cancer stem cells,” said Dr. Alan Fields, the study’s senior author and chair of the Department of Cancer Biology at Mayo Clinic Florida. “We show that aurothiomalate, the agent now being tested in lung cancer patients, can, in fact, target these cells.”

Jacksonville Business Journal, 09/08/09

Tags: Cancer, Lung Cancer, Mayo Clinic Jacksonville