Word: tumorous
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...meantime, U.S. scientists are trying to find out more about how thalidomide works. They have learned that the drug, besides having sedative effects, blocks two important processes in the body. The first involves the production of a substance called tumor necrosis factor, or TNF, which fights both malignant cells and infections. But if too much TNF is produced, as apparently happens in leprosy, AIDS and tuberculosis, the body makes itself sicker. The second process stymied by thalidomide is the creation of new blood vessels, which is crucial to the development of arms and legs in the fetus. The eventual goal...
...purred, respectively, while Lennon and Sutcliffe did the heavy lifting. John, you see, was Liverpool's own angry young man and the sole creator of this proto-punk, ur-grunge band (don't you love revisionism?). And Stu, preening moodily, was John's closet love god -- before a brain tumor drove Stu mad and killed him, thus establishing his credentials as a rock Rimbaud...
...taken a leave from McMaster University to work at Geron Corp. in Menlo Park, California. The company is trying to craft a drug that will block the action of telomerase. "The cancer cell," explains Harley, "is already very old. If we can inhibit telomerase, we might cause the tumor to die after a few doublings." Even better, the fact that cancer cells produce telomerase and that normal cells (save for sperm) don't, says Harley, "gives us hope that we may be able to develop a drug without serious side effects...
...formation of blood vessels in a tumor through angiogenesis is another promising target for an anticancer drug -- because the process is so rare in normal cells. Clinical trials have begun on several compounds that interfere with angiogenesis. One such compound comes from a fungus that was accidentally discovered in 1989 when it contaminated cultures of endothelial cells in Judah Folkman's Harvard laboratory, dramatically curtailing their growth. This drug, says Folkman, is aimed not at curing cancer but at prolonging the period of time colonies of tumor cellsmissed by conventional therapy remain in place without spreading. "Suppose we prolong this...
...series of stunning discoveries, including several announced last week, is unlocking the genetic secrets of how a tumor becomes malignant and spreads through the body. This knowledge could lead to much better treatments than the current arsenal of surgery, radiation and chemotherapy...