Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 13, 2026

Dietary Supplementation of Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids in Caenorhabditis elegans
Published on: November 29, 2013
Supplementing Cancer?
Kenneth D Swanson1, Bin Zheng2
1Brain Tumor Center and Neuro-Oncology Unit, Department of Neurology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02215, USA.
Abstract:
In this issue of Molecular Cell, Lin et al. (2018) report that chondroitin-4-sulfate, which is found in a common supplement meant to alleviate degenerative joint disorders, promotes the growth of BRAF V600E mutant melanoma. This study not only has implications for patient care but also sheds light on a novel mechanism for regulating phosphoinositide 3-kinase signaling.
Related Concept Videos
Cancer
What is Cancer?
Although people have known about cancer for centuries, it was only in 1761 that Giovanni Morgagni of Padua performed a detailed autopsy of...
Cancer Prevention
Some...
Cancer Therapies
However, cancer treatments can pose several challenges, as therapies used to kill cancer cells are generally also toxic to normal cells. Moreover, cancer cells mutate rapidly and can develop resistance to chemical agents or radiation therapy. Besides, all types of cancer cells may not respond to the same therapy. Some cancer cells respond to one...
Cancer Vaccines
Cancer vaccines come in two categories: preventive (prophylactic) and treatment (active). Preventive vaccines, such as the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, protect against viruses that cause certain...
Skin Cancer
Basal Cell Carcinoma (BCC): BCC is the most common type of skin cancer, accounting for about 80% of cases. It typically develops in...

