Double minute loss can occur spontaneously through shedding or can be induced by chemical agents. In previous animal studies, hydroxyurea was found effective in eliminating double minutes but this treatment is not suitable in humans. In the current study, investigators examined the way in which cancer cells normally shed double minutes and found that it occurs through a novel molecular mechanism that can provide a basis for the development of new, targeted chemotherapies. The Salk study also showed that damage to a key cell regulator gene, p53, allows a variety of drugs to induce the loss of the double minutes from the cell. Importantly, as the p53 gene is mutated in half of all human cancers, this type of anti-double minute therapy should be effective against many cancers while sparing normal cells.
Cancer is a genetic disease.
But now that we understand the underlying mechanism by which double minutes are eliminated, we have a target for developing new cancer therapies. We can convert the 'fleet foot' created by p53 loss into an Achilles heel. In addition to eliminating double-minutes, these new therapies may also prove useful against some tumor viruses that mimic double minutes and cause lymphomas, among other cancers. Co-authors of the study include Noriaki Shimizu, Ph.D., Nobuo Itoh, Ph.D., and Hiroyasu Utiyama, Ph.D. of Hiroshima University, Japan. Army, and the Japanese Ministry of Education.