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A cancer research breakthrough in Texas

DALLAS, Sept. 1 (UPI) -- Researchers in Dallas have found that mature muscle fibers are able to develop into a soft-tissue cancer in children and teens.

Experts at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and Children's Medical Center performed the research on fruit flies. The results reportedly showed that mature muscle cells, rather than less-developed cells, are able to turn malignant in the soft tissue cancer.

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The groundbreaking research provides doctors and scientists with clues as to how this cancer arises.

The particular cancer under study is Alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma, an aggressive, often fatal form of cancer that occurs mainly in the trunk, arms and legs of children or teenagers.

"There has been little progress toward developing effective therapies for rhabdomyosarcoma, in part because of the lack of animal models for the disease," said Dr. Eric Olson, chairman of molecular biology at UT Southwestern and the study's main author.

"This work is important because it provides a simple organism, the fruit fly, as a model for analyzing the genetic causes of rhabdomyosarcoma."

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