DEVELOPMENTS IN CANCER TREATMENT

[Anchor Lead]

Many cancer patients die not only because of malicious tumors but also because they cannot eat properly. Korean researchers have explained why this happens. The development of a supplementary treatment could significantly help alleviate cancer patients' survival rates.

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Researchers induced cancer in lab fruit flies. The Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology has become the world's first to discover excretion of a protein called INSL3 in the flies' cancerous cells. The researchers have also explained how this unique protein suppresses the excretion of hormones that promote eating behavior when transmitted to the brain through blood vessels, and how hormones suppressing eating behavior increase.

[Soundbite] Yoo Kwon(Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology) : "The molecular mechanism was unknown. We have discovered how the molecular mechanism of suppressing appetite in cancer patients works."

The same pattern has been found to be applicable to humans. One of the major symptoms of pancreatic cancer is cachexia, which causes severe weight loss and poor appetite. A clinical study conducted on pancreatic cancer patients shows that the higher the concentration of INSL3, the fewer calories patients receive by consuming food. This means by suppressing the protein's secretion, cancer patients can receive significant help.

[Soundbite] Lee Kyu-seon(Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology) : "The development of a treatment targeting the INSL3 protein could be used to improve physical strength and appetite in cancer patients and maximize the efficacy of cancer treatments."

All eyes are on whether the finding will pave the way for boosting the efficiency of chemotherapy and cancer patients' survival rates.