In an article published by the BBC on the 22nd of February, 2011, it states that scientists at the UK’s institute of cancer research have prevented breast cancer spreading to other organs in mice by blocking a chemical. In the experiments, the enzyme LOXL2 was blocked and they found that this prevented the spread of cancer. When they referenced this new found information with breast cancer patients, they found that high levels of the LOXL2 enzyme was linked with not only the spread of cancer around the body, but also linked to very low survival rates. The scientists behind the research used specialised chemicals and antibodies acting as inhibitors in order to block the activity of LOXL2, which stopped the spread of breast cancer into other tissues. This experiment discovered that LOXL2’s role in the spread of cancer was that it allowed cancerous cells to escape into the bloodstream and begin to circulate. I found this study particularly interesting as cancer is an illness that we still know very little about, and in particular I find this research promising in terms of finding a possible cure.
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