BBC NEWS | Health | 'Supermouse' bred to beat cancer: "Last Updated: Wednesday, 28 November 2007, 10:48 GMT E-mail this to a friend Printable version 'Supermouse' bred to beat cancer Mouse Mice appeared immune to cancer Mice carrying a gene which appears to make them invulnerable to cancer may hold the key to safer and more effective treatments for humans. The new breed, created with a more active 'Par-4' gene, did not develop tumours, and even lived longer, said the journal Cancer Research. University of Kentucky researchers said a human cancer treatment was possible. Cancer Research UK said that more research would be needed to prove it didn't just work in mice. We are thinking of this as a holistic approach that not only would get rid of the tumour, but not harm the organism as a whole Dr Vivek Rangnekar University of Kentucky Par-4 was originally discovered in the early 1990s working inside human prostate cancers, and is believed to have a role in 'programmed cell death', the body's own system for rooting out and destroying damaged or faulty cells. The Kentucky team used an existing mouse breed known to be more vulnerable to cancers to test whether Par-4 could be used to fight them. They introduced the gene to mouse eggs, and it was active in both the resulting pups - and their own offspring.
The mice with active Par-4 did not develop cancers, and lived slightly longer than those without the gene.
Dr Vivek Rangnekar, who led the research, said that the gene offered a potential way, unlike most other cancer treatments, of destroying cancer cells without harming normal cells.
"When a cancer patient goes to the clinic, they undergo chemotherapy or radiation and there are potential side effects associated with these treatments.
"We are thinking of this as a holistic approach that not only would get rid of the tumour, but not harm the organism as a whole."
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