Belgians make progress in the fight against cancer
Researchers from Leuven made the discovery that extra oxygen can help to slow down the growth of tumour cells. It appears that this discovery is an important step in the treatment of cancer patients.
Under the guidance of professor Diether Lambrechts and Dr Bernard Thienpont (VIB / KULeuven), a research team attempted to establish the link between the presence of oxygen and the development of tumours.
Contrary to what one might first expect, it appears that tumours develop more quickly in cases of poor blood circulation. It is almost as if cancer cells receiving too little oxygen thrive better and react by spreading more.
In a following phase the researchers looked into whether a better supply of oxygen could help to curb the development of cancer. Trials on mice demonstrated that this assumption was indeed correct.
There is no doubt that these findings will be a great help in developing new, effective medicines. The results of this research have already appeared in the authoritative magazine Nature.