PADUA, Italy, April 3 (UPI) -- Identification of a gene that acts as a wall against the spread of cancer could lead to more personalized treatment of the illness, scientists in Italy said.
The p63 gene acts as a bulwark against metastasis, the uncontrollable spread of cancer, said Stefano Piccolo of Padua University and Silvio Bicciato of the University of Modena.
Metastasis occurs when the p63 gene begins behaving erratically, allowing cells to migrate, they said.
The mechanisms behind cancer "progressively weaken the anti-metastasis properties of the p63 gene," leading cells that contain the gene to wander and become "anti-social," the scientists said.
Cancer treatments could become more personalized, and therefore more effective, as scientists learn more about how to use molecular indicators, such as the p63 gene, in clinical settings, ANSA, the Italian news agency reported Friday.
