Gene breakthrough could help stop growth of bowel and liver cancers

Researchers are on the trail of discovering new treatments to suppress the growth of bowel and liver cancers.

Genes in the bowel and liver were studied to find out why they only cause cancer in specific tissues.

The scientists zeroed in on genetic faults that allow cancer to hijack a signalling system in the body which tells cells when and where not to grow. 

Cancer can then use the system, called the WNT pathway, to grow tumours.

The research, published in Nature Genetics, found that a protein called nucleophosmin (NPM1), involved in the control of growth, was found in high levels in bowel cancer and some liver cancers. 

This was due to genetic errors in the WNT pathway.

By blocking this protein, it may be possible to develop new treatments for specific cancers.

Lead researcher Professor Owen Sansom, of the University of Glasgow and the director of the Cancer Research UK Scotland Institute, said: ‘Because NPM1 isn’t essential for normal adult tissue health, blocking it could be a safe way to treat certain cancers, like some hard-to-treat bowel and liver cancers.

‘If NPM1 is removed, cancer cells struggle to make proteins properly and this allows a tumour suppressor to activate, preventing cancer growth.

‘Increasing numbers of people are affected by these cancers, so finding a new way to tackle these cancers is crucial.’

Almost 24,000 people die from bowel or liver cancer each year in the UK. The team hope the findings could aid the treatment of other cancers.