Cancer fighting sea squirt
fighting cancer, Onhealth reports this week. A particular form of
sea squirt has been discovered...
A species of sea squirt may some day play a critical role in fighting cancer, Onhealth reports this week. A particular form of sea squirt has been discovered to contain a cancer-fighting substance called ecteinascidin-743. The extract is being used to treat patients with breast cancer, and preliminary studies have shown it can cause tumors to shrink. In trials carried out at Madrid-based Pharma Mar. patients getting ET-743 therapy already had been treated with standard chemotherapy drugs, yet their cancer still progressed. Researchers are especially interested in ET-743's activity on a molecular level. It appears to disrupt cancer cells' ability to activate certain genes in the body that can reduce the effectiveness of cancer-fighting substances.
