An old pinworm medicine is a new lead in the search for compounds that block a signaling pathway implicated in colon cancer.
The findings, reported by Vanderbilt University Medical Center researchers in the November issue of Nature Chemical Biology, suggest a fresh approach for developing therapeutics that target the pathway.
More than 90 percent of sporadic (non-inherited) colon cancers — the second deadliest type of cancer in the developed world — are caused by mutations that result in inappropriate activation of the Wnt (pronounced “wint”) signaling pathway. Blocking this pathway has been a desirable therapeutic target, but its complexity has made it difficult to determine which molecular participants to inhibit.
An old pinworm medicine is a new lead in the search for compounds that block a signaling pathway implicated in colon cancer.
The findings, reported by Vanderbilt University Medical Center researchers in the November issue of Nature Chemical Biology, suggest a fresh approach for developing therapeutics that target the pathway.
More than 90 percent of sporadic (non-inherited) colon cancers — the second deadliest type of cancer in the developed world — are caused by mutations that result in inappropriate activation of the Wnt (pronounced “wint”) signaling pathway. Blocking this pathway has been a desirable therapeutic target, but its complexity has made it difficult to determine which molecular participants to inhibit.