This story is from July 18, 2015

Sugar trail may lead to early cancer detection

In a breakthrough that could lead to a new protocol for cancer detection and treatment, scientists have identified a glucose delivery mechanism which helps cancer cells to survive and grow.
Sugar trail may lead to early cancer detection
In a breakthrough that could lead to a new protocol for cancer detection and treatment, scientists have identified a glucose delivery mechanism which helps cancer cells to survive and grow.
NEW DELHI: In a breakthrough that could lead to a new protocol for cancer detection and treatment, scientists have identified a glucose delivery mechanism which helps cancer cells to survive and grow.
The discovery can help in early detection of not only pancreatic and prostrate cancer but many others like cancer of the breast and colon.
Announcing the findings, scientists from the University of California, Los Angeles(UCLA) also suggested the use of certain anti-diabetic drugs to reduce the growth of tumours.
Experts and doctors say the findings can give a new protocol worldwide for cancer detection and treatment.
Cancer cells require large amounts of glucose to survive and grow. So far, passive glucose transporters — membrane proteins known as GLUTS — were known to be the primary method used by the body to deliver glucose to tumours. However, through a n extensive three-year study, UCLA scientists have now identified a new pathway, revealed in an article published in leading American science journal, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences(PNAS).
"We have identified a new mechanism to import glucose into pancreatic and prostate cancer cells, namely active glucose transport mediated by sodium-dependent glucose tran8s8porters (SGLTs)," researchers said.
The researchers suggest probing the new pathway through specific radioactive imaging probe along with positron-emission tomography (PET) that can enable early detection of these cancers cells. Experts say this is the first promising evidence that PET imaging techniques and SGLT2 inhibitors could be used to better diagnose and treat pancreatic and prostate cancers.

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The findings also provide strong evidence that certain type-2 diabetic drugs, belonging to a new class known as SGLT2 inhibitors which are already approved by the US Food and Drug Administration and were recently launched in India, could potentially block glucose uptake and reduce tumour growth and increase survival among pancreatic and prostate cancer patients.
Pancreatic cancer, estimated as the fourth leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the US behind only lung, colon and breast cancers, is also increasing significantly in India. In most cases, the tumour is detected at a very late stage, making it very difficult for doctors to remove it.
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Prostate cancer, though generally more treatable, is also witnessing a rapid increase in incidence in India as well as globally. While globally it is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in men, in India, the incidence of prostate cancer among men has increased by over 220% between 1900 and 2013.
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Researchers at UCLA will next begin a clinical study to further investigate the importance of sodium-dependent glucose transporters in glucose delivery. They hope that these findings will lead to the potential use of the existing anti-diabetic medicines to reduce the viability of pancreatic and prostate cancer cells and improve the survival rate in patients.
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