Aug. 25, 2009 Tiny, solitary spikes that stick out of nearly
every cell in the body play a central role in a type of skin
cancer, new research has found. The discovery in mice shows that
the microscopic structures known as primary cilia can either
suppress or promote this skin cancer, depending on the mutation
triggering the disease. The finding suggests that drugs that
boost or block primary cilia activity could offer a new strategy
against cancer. Unlike the more familiar motile cilia, primary
cilia do not move, and only one pokes out of each cell. They
have recently been discovered to play an essential role in
assuring normal embryological development. The new study focused
on basal cell carcinoma, the most common cancer in the United
States. It is published in the August 23, 2009 advanced online
issue of "Nature Medicine." A companion article in the same
issue reports a similar discovery regarding a type of brain
tumor in children known as medulloblastoma. (See related UCSF
news release on this finding.)