A single protein may enable skin cells to detect genetic damage and stop growing rather than become cancerous, researchers are reporting.

The protein, IGFBP7, regulates an anticancer mechanism in normal cells that allows the cells to enter a state of arrested growth or commit suicide rather than develop into melanomas in the face of genetic damage. Understanding this process could lead to new strategies for treating the disease, the researchers say.

Dr. Michael Green of the University of Massachusetts Medical School and his colleagues reported their findings in the February 8 Cell.   Read more  

Patients with osteosarcoma who received the experimental drug mifamurtide (L-MTP-PE) along with chemotherapy fared better than patients who received chemotherapy alone, researchers are reporting. Osteosarcoma is a rare but often fatal cancer of the bone. The disease typically affects children and young adults, and no new therapies have been introduced in two decades.

The study - conducted by the Children's Oncology Group - was the largest final-stage randomized trial in this disease and included 662 patients with newly diagnosed nonmetastatic osteosarcoma.   Read more  

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