New drug blocks gene driving cancer growth

When active, the protein called Ral can drive tumor growth and metastasis in several human cancers including pancreatic, prostate, lung, colon and bladder. Unfortunately, drugs that block its activity are not available. A study published today in the journal Nature uses a novel approach to target the activation of these Ral proteins: "When you want to keep an alligator from biting you, you can tie its mouth shut. We took another approach – we put a stick in its mouth to hold it open," says Dan Theodorescu, MD, PhD, professor of Urology and Pharmacology, director of the University of Colorado Cancer Center and the study's senior author, who led a multidisciplinary team of investigators from the University of Colorado, Indiana University, the University of Virginia and Yale University. Read more here.