Molecule may predict chemo effectiveness

CINCINNATI, Sept. 5 (UPI) -- U.S. medical scientists have discovered a molecular pathway might help physicians predict which lung cancer patients will benefit from chemotherapy.

University of Cincinnati researchers said the molecule -- known as the retinoblastoma, or RB, tumor suppressor -- regulates cell proliferation in the body. Research has shown the RB pathway is either entirely inactive or altered in most human cancers.

Dr. Michael Reed and colleagues at the University of Cincinnati found "turning off" the RB pathway in lung cancer cells resulted in an altered response to chemotherapy agents and more cancer cell death.

"Dissecting the RB pathway will help us better understand how chemotherapy works and predict which patients might benefit from therapy and which ones won’t," said Reed.

The findings are reported in the journal Cancer Research.