Institute researchers have uncovered new insights into how the normal controls on cell growth are lost in cancer cells, leading to rapid tumour expansion.
The findings could help researchers predict how cancer cells respond to chemotherapy and improve our understanding of how cancer evolves.
Published in the journal Cell Cycle, the research was led by Dr Kim Pham and Professor Phil Hodgkin and performed in collaboration with Dr Kelly Rogers and Dr Lachlan Whitehead at the Institute’s Centre for Dynamic Imaging.
At a glance
- Researchers have discovered how the process of cell replication is derailed in cancer cells, challenging a longstanding theory about how cells grow.
- The discovery was made using advanced imaging techniques and allowed researchers to develop a new mathematical model of cell replication.
- Accurate models of cell replication help researchers predict how cancers respond to chemotherapy and how drug resistance evolves.
Read more at Walter and Eliza Hall Institute
Image: This is a still image taken from a biomedical animation of a cell replicating. (Credit: Walter and Eliza Hall Institute)