Research Finding May Help Slow Advance of Colorectal Cancer

A receptor for a bacterial toxin on the surface of metastatic colorectal cancer cells may control the growth of the cells, according to researchers at Jefferson Medical College and Jefferson's Kimmel Cancer Center in Philadelphia.

Researchers also found that when the toxin joins up with the receptor known as GCC, metastatic colorectal cancer cell growth slows considerably. Researchers speculate that the receptor-toxin combination could eventually be used with chemotherapy or other agents to slow the advance of colorectal cancer, according to the study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

"Cancer then becomes a chronic disease," said Dr. Scott Waldman, professor of medicine and director of the Division of Clinical Pharmacology at Jefferson Medical College and co-author of the study.

Researchers are testing the receptor as a target for imaging agents to find where in the body metastatic cancer has spread. By coupling cell-killing drugs to the toxin, the receptor can also be used therapeutically as it targets the cancer.

Researchers plan to continue their study by looking into new agents that may work in combination with GCC to keep tumors at bay.

Other sources: Thomas Jefferson University Hospital