Cancer protein found in diabetes

A new study has solved a cancer-related mystery. Researchers have been trying to assess what function a protein frequently mutated by cancer performs. The protein, termed p110 alpha, is a constituent part of the flagship molecular family P13K.
The discovery, by a team of English researchers, has revealed that the protein p110 alpha is integral to controlling insulin and other hormones functioning within the body. The results of the study indicate that when cancer cells are present within a body, they hijack a principal signalling pathway. The cancer cells use the protein to feed their energy needs and continue their proliferation.
The findings obviously have enormous implications in the treatment of cancer, and opens up the possibility of testing p110 alpha-specific inhibitors. This could open up new treatment methods. The pharmaceutical industry are said to be hungry for more information of this type, one expert was reported as saying.
After studies on mice, it appears that drugs blocking p110 alpha functioning in cancer cells might not cause metabolic disturbances, opening up the possibility of a very interesting new treatment method.