Cancer treatment potential discovered in gene repair mechanism
If the laboratory findings are supported by tests in animal models, the breakthrough could hold the promise of increasing the effectiveness of radiation and chemotherapy in shrinking or even eliminating tumors. The key is to build up a “good” protein — p53-binding protein 1 (53BP1) — so that it weakens the cancer cells, leaving them more susceptible to existing cancer-fighting measures. The breakthrough detailed appeared in the Nov. 24 online edition of the journal PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences). …