When certain signals in a cell start to alter and change, the cells undergo unusual levels of growth which result in tumors.  That’s all cancer really is…an unusual level of cell growth which results in a growth that can kill a person.  There are treatments for cancer, such as radiation and chemotherapy which targets and tries to destroy the cells that are growing in an unusual level.  However, that doesn’t always do it and it doesn’t get to the root of the problem: getting control of that signal that alters the growth of the cells.

Using rats, scientists have started to experiment and find a way in which they can find the ideal level of Myc (a signaling molecule that had a direct connection in the growth of cells).  Basically, if Myc is too low, the cells start to die out and if Myc is too high, the cells start to grow larger with no control and they become tumors.  In the past, scientists had experimented with just turning the Myc molecule off; however, they found that cells actually needed this to survive, so it was proven that turning it off just wouldn’t be a good idea.

What they did realize, though, was that when they tweaked the Myc molecule and just lowered the levels below the threshold that caused tumor growth, the cells actually returned to normal size.  For any scientist, this was probably a very exciting thing.  The importance of finding this threshold was pivotal because Myc exists in both healthy and unhealthy cells.  By figuring out what level was suitable for normal cells and what levels would trigger tumor growth, scientists are now able to figure out a medication that could be used for cancer treatment.

The way I see it, this is a really great way to try and cure cancer.  High levels of Myc is the cause of 50% of cancers.  If a drug were introduced that somehow lowered these levels below the threshold, the cells would naturally return to normal and start dying normally.  However, the thing that scientists need to be careful of is lowering it too much.  If the Myc is turned off completely, the cells will die.  It’ll be a bit of trial and error I am sure to try and find a way to lower the Myc effectively without lowering it too much.

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