From: "Saul Pressman"
To: [email hidden]
Subject: Oxylist Re: Oxygen and Cancer
Date: Thu, 04 Feb 1999 17:42:35 PST
Dear Oxylisters,
Excerpt from The National Post for Wednesday, February 3,
1999
"CLUE TO SPREAD OF CANCER DISCOVERED"
--------------------------------------
" Critical clues explaining why cancerous cells spread,
uncovered by a biologist at Queen's University, may have
important implications for future treatments, according to a
leading international journal.
The findings of Dr. Charles Graham and a team of researchers
at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, published in the
current issue of the International Journal of cancer,
suggest a link between oxygen levels in cancerous tumors and
the spread of the disease to other parts of the body.
"Our research shows that the low levels of oxygen in
malignant tumors enhance the ability of the tumor cells to
spread," said Dr. Graham. "So by manipulating oxygen levels
within the tumor, we may be able to control the spreading of
cancer to different parts of the body".
"We took breast cancer cells and put them under conditions
of low oxygen and we saw the cells became more aggressive
and invasive..."
"To spread, tumor cells must be able to break down and
invade surrounding tissue barriers. Dr. Graham's research
shows that hypoxia, or low oxygen levels, in the tumor mass
plays an important role in stimulating the processes
required for metastasis."
- National Post reporter Tom Arnold