|
US: Medical discovery by a Kurd at Harvard
University
10.2.2008
|
|
|
 |
February
10, 2008
Harvard University, USA, -- A gene called
STAT3 acts like "Jekyll and Hyde" in glioblastoma
brain cancer, according to a study led by Harvard
Medical School researchers.
The finding may help improve treatment of people
with the deadly disease.
Glioblastoma tends to strike people in the prime of
life and is almost always fatal. There are limited
treatment options, which have changed little over
decades.
Previous research has shown that STAT3 is an
oncogene in several types of glioblastoma. |
Dr. Azad Bonni |
An oncogene is a gene
whose normal functions are disrupted and, as a
result,www.ekurd.net
helps promote tumor
development. In such cases, blocking STAT3 would be
a way of fighting these tumors.
But this new study found that STAT3 is actually a
tumor-suppressor gene in other types of glioblastoma,
meaning that the gene keeps renegade cancer cells in
check.
So, depending on a person's genetic makeup, STAT3
can play completely different roles in glioblastoma,
the researchers said.
"This discovery lays the foundation for a more
tailored therapeutic intervention. And that's really
important. You can't just go blindly treating people
by inhibiting STAT3,"www.ekurd.net
study senior author Azad
Bonni, an associate professor of pathology at
Harvard Medical School, said in a prepared
statement.
The study was published online Feb. 6 in the
journalGenes & Development.
Dr Azad Bonni is an American Kurd from Akre city in
Iraqi Kurdistan (Southern Kurdistan).
More information
harvard edu | HealthDay News | Washington Post
Top |
Kurd Net
does not take credit for and is not responsible for the content of news
information on this page
|
® 