Mutations in Genes Resulting in Cancer - Essay Example

?Reprogramming of Cancer Cells Definition of Cancer: According to the definition of cancer, it is a disease in which the cells of the body become abnormal and they start to divide uncontrolled and they may invade the nearby healthy tissues and cells and may metastasize through the lymphatics or the blood stream to various parts of the body (BreastCancer.org, 2011). Mutations in genes resulting in Cancer: Basically cancer arises due to mutations in different genes which result in the uncontrolled division of the cells which allow these abnormal cells to invade the normal cells of the body. Genes are basically a coding system inside the cell which directs the cell to perform its functions through the synthesis of different proteins which are encoded by different genes. When a mutation affects a gene then it may exerts its effect either by the production of excess amount of certain protein or by stopping the production of certain protein. There are numerous kinds of genes in the body but mainly there are three main types which are usually affected by mutations resulting in cancers. These include; Oncogenes which promote the cell division Tumor suppressor genes which inhibit the cell division DNA repair genes which serve to repair the damaged cells Usually in a cancer, the mutations result in the over expression of the Oncogenes which result in the uncontrollable production of the abnormal cells and the tumor suppressor genes are usually inhibited by mutations so the control of the cell division is lost (Cancer Research UK, 2011). Epigenetic Drugs: This group of drugs usually acts by masking the expression of specific genes or they may counteract the effect of certain carcinogenic substances which increase the tumor burden. In the field of cancer treatment, these drugs usually are designed to inhibit the compounds or carcinogens which prevent the tumor suppressor genes in the body. So these drugs can be helpful in reducing the tumor burden by decreasing the production of carcinogens and their related gene products. Epigenetic drugs are different from the usual chemotherapy drugs in a way that these drugs are usually targeted against a major carcinogenic agent systemically rather than affecting the tumor growth directly like other chemotherapeutic agents. Active research is going on in the field of epigenetic drugs in the treatment of malignant tumors, as till now, these are not proved a big success in the treatment of malignant tumors. These drugs if proved successful can bring a revolution in the treatment of cancers as these are quite economical as compared to the novel therapeutic agents and if these drugs are used with other chemotherapeutic agents then these drugs can be used as faster and safer remedy for the patients with cancer in advanced stages (Mesotheliomaweb.org). Research at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center: The researchers at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center found that the low dose of two epigenetic drugs named Azacitidine (AZA) and Decitabine (DAC) which were thought toxic at higher doses can correct the mutations in the DNA resulting in the regulation of the cell division process thus can aid in the treatment of malignant cancers. These researchers also found that at a lower dose these drugs can also inhibit the small population of cancer stem cells resulting in the decreased production of cancer cells which are usually resistant to most of the chemotherapy agents and are the cause of recurrence and metastasis. The researchers showed in a study published in “Issue of cancer cells” that the low doses of these drugs show significant response in breast, colon and lung cancer patients. Other chemotherapeutic agents usually exert their actions by killing the rapidly diving cancer as well as the healthy cells by damaging the DNA of these cells and as these drugs cannot discriminate between the cancer and the healthy cells so these results in the killing of the healthy cells which lead to the side effects produced by these drugs. AZA and DAC are not used usually for the treatment of cancers as these were thought to be very toxic for normal cells at high doses and a very little work was done on these drugs on their role in the treatment of cancers. The researchers at this institute tested a low dose of these drugs in the cancer treatment when they observed that a low dose of these drugs proved to be helpful in the treatment of Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS) which is a precancerous condition. They also tested these drugs in some of the patients with advanced Lung Cancer and they found these drugs helpful in the treatment of these patients. These researchers then tested these drugs in laboratory using breast, leukemia, lung as well as colon cancer patients, the drugs were used in a low dose and the cells were treated with these drugs for three days and then these were transplanted in a mice and the researchers observed that the anti cancer response was present up to 20 weeks afterwards. This low dose therapy regulated the cancer cell altered pathways including cell cycle, cell repair as well as cell differentiation. The extent of effect may vary on individual cells but the overall effect was the reversal of these cells to normal processes and eventually the cancer cell died. The effects of these drugs were also tested on the metastatic breast cancer cells which were resistant to most of the cancer therapies and the colonies of metastatic cells when subjected to these drugs were rapidly reduced in size as well as number. The mechanism of action of these drugs lies in the regulation of normal cellular pathways resulting in the slow death of cancer cells over a long period of time. These researchers also found that these drugs made the tumor cells more responsive to the chemotherapeutic agents so these drugs can be used in conjunct with standard anti cancer treatment rather than to be used alone according to the genetic profile of the patients. So these drugs can be hope for the patients of leukemia, breast, and colon and lung cancer with advanced disease or with metastatic disease who are refractory to standard treatments if further research on these drugs especially targeted to minimize the side effects of these drugs (Science Daily, 2012). References 1. BreastCancer.org. “Cancer.” 2011. Web. 23 June 2011 2. Cancer Research UK. “How Cancer Starts.” 2011. Web. 3 November 2011 3. Mesothelioma. “Epigenetic Drugs for Cancer Treatment.” Web. 4. Science Daily. “Scientists Reprogram Cancer Cells with Low Doses of Epigenetic Drugs.” 2012. Web. 23 March 2012 Read More