Growth Factor Protein Proepithelin: Biomarker for Bladder Cancer, Potential Drug Target
Scientists at Jefferson Medical College and Jefferson’s Kimmel Cancer Center probably have identified a potential target for drugs by demonstrating that a growth factor protein called proepithelin plays a crucial role in the spread of bladder cancer.
Because proepithelin seem not to strongly promoter cell proliferation but instead promotes migration and invasion (two crucial steps leading to metastasis) then it could be could be critical for the passage of a cancer from a noninvasive to an invasive phenotype.
Andrea Morrione, Ph.D. (research assistant professor of urology), Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University and Jefferson’s Kimmel Cancer Center in Philadelphia, heading the research team notes that proepithelin might be used as a marker for bladder cancer.
Proepithelin is found in higher-than-normal levels in breast, ovarian and renal cancers, in addition to deadly brain cancers known as glioblastomas. It plays important roles in development, cell movement and tumor formation.
The research findings were reported July 15, 2006 in the journal Cancer Research.
Read more at Thomas Jefferson University.
Tags: biomarkers, bladder-cancer, growth-factor-proteinRelated Stories
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