3 ms·

Keeping radiation-damaged cells from undergoing apoptosis sounds like a great way to make sure you get cancer. /scratches head, sure I'm missing something

extension 17y ago
One risk of preventing cell death is that defective cells may be allowed to survive which could then turn cancerous. However, the researchers found no sign of this happening in the laboratory tests on mice. It doesn't stop cancer, it stops cell death from radiation, which incidentally may allow higher doses of radiation therapy.
- biohacker42 17y ago
  Mice are tiny and very short lived. Cancer rates in mice don't translate well to cancer rates in humans.
- MaysonL 17y ago
  It doesn't stop cancer, it stops cell death from radiation, which incidentally may allow higher doses of radiation therapy. Of course, given that the purpose of radiation therapy is to cause cell death from radiation, it might be self-defeating. (Then again, if it protects normal cells better than cancer cells, it might be useful).
flipbrad 17y ago
It takes (usually) four to six oncogene activations to take a cell (or its progeny) into serious, lifethreatening, mofo cancer mode. Things need to be turned off - programmed cell death (apoptosis), DNA repair, sensitivity to growth-suppressing signals from neighbours, etc - and turned on - ability to 'eat' through neighbouring tissues so it can metastasize via your bloodstream, ability to send out vascularisation signals so that the growing tumour can co-opt the body to send some capillaries and minor veins its way before it starves and chokes from being too big - and so on. Apoptosis (suicide) of a cell before it gets more/all of these (assuming they're irreperable, which is the first resort, of course) is a fantastic safety mechanism. Override it at your peril.
- TrevorJ 17y ago
  I don' think I've seen medical termanology and the term "mofo" used in the same sentence before. Your point about overriding apoptosis is a good one, however in cases when the patient will die of radiation poisoning, cancer becomes of secondary importance.

extension 17y ago

One risk of preventing cell death is that defective cells may be allowed to survive which could then turn cancerous. However, the researchers found no sign of this happening in the laboratory tests on mice. It doesn't stop cancer, it stops cell death from radiation, which incidentally may allow higher doses of radiation therapy.

biohacker42 17y ago
Mice are tiny and very short lived. Cancer rates in mice don't translate well to cancer rates in humans.
MaysonL 17y ago
It doesn't stop cancer, it stops cell death from radiation, which incidentally may allow higher doses of radiation therapy. Of course, given that the purpose of radiation therapy is to cause cell death from radiation, it might be self-defeating. (Then again, if it protects normal cells better than cancer cells, it might be useful).

flipbrad 17y ago

It takes (usually) four to six oncogene activations to take a cell (or its progeny) into serious, lifethreatening, mofo cancer mode. Things need to be turned off - programmed cell death (apoptosis), DNA repair, sensitivity to growth-suppressing signals from neighbours, etc - and turned on - ability to 'eat' through neighbouring tissues so it can metastasize via your bloodstream, ability to send out vascularisation signals so that the growing tumour can co-opt the body to send some capillaries and minor veins its way before it starves and chokes from being too big - and so on. Apoptosis (suicide) of a cell before it gets more/all of these (assuming they're irreperable, which is the first resort, of course) is a fantastic safety mechanism. Override it at your peril.

TrevorJ 17y ago
I don' think I've seen medical termanology and the term "mofo" used in the same sentence before. Your point about overriding apoptosis is a good one, however in cases when the patient will die of radiation poisoning, cancer becomes of secondary importance.