Non-genetic cancer mechanism found - Akt pathway (Oncogene)

Cancer can be caused solely by protein imbalances within cells, a study of ovarian cancer has found. The discovery is a major breakthrough because, until now, genetic aberrations have been seen as the main cause of almost all cancer.

.....The research, led by scientists at the University of Leeds and The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, focused on the "Akt pathway," ( Protein kinase B (PKB), also known as Akt ) a signalling pathway within cells that drives cancer formation and the spread of cancers through the body......

ScienceDaily 


Journal Reference:

1. Z Timsah, Z Ahmed, C Ivan, J Berrout, M Gagea, Y Zhou, G N A Pena, Xin Hu, C Vallien, C V Kingsley, Y Lu, J F Hancock, J Liu, A B Gladden, G B Mills, G Lopez-Berestein, M-C Hung, A K Sood, M Bogdanov, J E Ladbury. Grb2 depletion under non-stimulated conditions inhibits PTEN, promotes Akt-induced tumor formation and contributes to poor prognosis in ovarian cancer. Oncogene, 2015; DOI: 10.1038/onc.2015.279