Source: The Mercury – Sue Dunlevy.
CANCER sufferers could one day avoid debilitating chemotherapy as a result of breakthrough Australian research into how to stop cancer cells dividing.
The discovery could also lead to new treatments for children who suffer from a rare syndrome that causes their organs to age prematurely.
The research could even unlock the secret of how to stop the human body ageing.
“We are on the cusp of something transformative,” Sydney’s Children’s Medical Research Institute genome integrity group leader Tony Cesare said.
Institute director Roger Reddel said one of the ways cancer cells kept dividing was by keeping the ends of their chromosomes, called telomeres.
The institute will become a world leader in the field next year when it opens a $2 million Telomere Research Centre equipped with new technology able to examine thousands of cells at a time.
International researchers looking at telomeres will meet in Sydney this week to share insights into how best to treat patients with rapid organ ageing and cancer…read the full story.
