Cancer mediation at the cellular level

Reasearchers at University of California San Francisco have discovered a tiny cellular filament that may play a role in the most common malignant brain tumor in children as well as in basal cell carcinoma.

Known as primary cilium, the structure was shown to either prohibit or enhance the growth of tumors, depending on which mutated genes intiated the cellular aberrations to begin with. That the UCSF studies implicate primary cilia in two different tissues may indicate the finding to be very general, according to senior researchers in the study.

The study findings have lead to and investigation of primary cilia's role in other brain tumors, and may also lead to a diagnostic strategy and therapeutic approaches to such diseases.

News source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090823184359.htm