South Korean scientists find protein that helps predict spread of bone cancer
SEOUL, April 26 (Yonhap) — South Korean scientists on Thursday said they have found a method to predict the spread of bone cancer to internal organs that could help saves lives.
Kim Min-suk and Jeon Dae-geun at the Korea Institute of Radiological and Medical Sciences said clinical observations on 64 patients over three years have shown a close correlation between the presence of ezrin protein and bone cancer metastasis.
Bone cancer, also called osteosarcoma, is a rare form of cancer that usually strikes teenagers. The cancer is hard to treat because while surgery can remove malignant tumors, there is a chance that the cancer can metastasize and invade distant tissues and organs. The mortality rate for a person who has contracted the illness is 40 percent.
“Of the 33 people who tested positive for the ezrin protein, 21 suffered from cancerous tumors invading distant tissues and organs,” said Kim. In the 31 cases where no ezrin protein was detected, only one patient had to undergo treatment after the cancer metastasized.
The findings, released in the Journal of Clinical Orthopedics and Related Research, represent the first time that scientists have found a direct link between the protein and the spread of bone cancer. In the past, ezrin was used to determine if cancer cells had been completely destroyed after surgery or other forms of treatment.
The scientists also said that the newly discovered link could help prevent relapse among patients who have already been treated for cancer.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
