Drugging the undruggable: discovery opens up possibility of slowing cancer spread

A trawl through a library of more than 50,000 'small molecules' has identified a potential candidate to inhibit the spread of cancer cells throughout the body. Reported today Communications, the molecule targets a mechanism of tumour development that had previously been considered 'undruggable'- in other words, extremely difficult, if not impossible, to target with a drug - and could open the door to further promising new candidates. The cells in our body go through a continuous process of growth, division and death, but when this process goes awry it can lead to uncontrolled cell growth and the development of tumours. Unchecked, this growth first manifests as a localised tumour, but eventually the cancer will 'metastasise', invading surrounding tissues and organs. Over nine out of ten cancer deaths are attributable to such progression. However, even in a sick patient, the vast majority of the body's 50 trillion cells maintain accurate control over processes like growth and division for a lifetime. This process is orchestrated by proteins known as 'transcription factors' that instruct DNA in the cells to produce specific proteins needed by the cell at specific times.