Researchers across Emory are participating in numerous projects that examine the different relationships between “sugars” and cancer.
First, Emory was recently awarded two grants totaling $2.5 million dollars over five years from the National Cancer Institute to study the sugary coatings of cancer cells. Novel diagnostic methods and anticancer treatments are expected to come from this research. Read more at: http://news.emory.edu/stories/2012/08/cancer_glycomics_grants/index.html.
Second, Emory researchers continue to investigate cancer cell’s “sugar cravings”. Cancerous cells use up more glucose than healthy cells, as they turn off the mitochondria which are typically responsible for producing energy and instead rely on glucose. In the video below, Jing Chen, PhD, associate professor of hematology and medical oncology at Emory University School of Medicine and Winship Cancer Institute, explains how his team is examining whether anticancer therapies can target this mis-appropriation of glucose. To read more about the research, please visit: http://shared.web.emory.edu/whsc/news/releases/2011/12/enzyme-that-flips-switch-on-cells-sugar-cravings-could-be-anti-cancer-target.html.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1hUSiXISYs&feature=player_detailpage#t=18s