MD Anderson study finds telomere failure, telomerase activation drive prostate cancer progression

Genomic instability caused by an erosion of the protective caps on chromosomes, followed by activation of an enzyme that reinforces those caps, allows malignant cells to evade destruction and acquire more deadly characteristics, MD Anderson Cancer Center researchers report in an Online Now article at the journal Cell. In a strain of mice engineered to develop prostate cancer, all mice that went through this two-step process developed lethal cancer and 25 percent had the disease spread to the spine. Two groups of mice that avoided this cycle developed only precancerous lesions or localized prostate cancer.

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Among the research institutions NCI funds across the United States, it currently designates 66 as Cancer Centers. Largely based in research universities, these facilities are home to many of the NCI-supported scientists who conduct a wide range of intense, laboratory research into cancer’s origins and development. The Cancer Centers Program also focuses on trans-disciplinary research, including population science and clinical research. The centers’ research results are often at the forefront of studies in the cancer field.