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Cannibalism in Breast Cancer: The Dangers of Overeating
Sue Haupt1, Simon P Keam2, Ygal Haupt3
1Tumor Suppression Laboratory, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia; Sir Peter MacCallum Department of Oncology, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia.
Abstract:
Cancer cells devouring their neighbours to survive drug treatment is an abhorrent concept. Yet it holds hope for exploring new anticancer treatments. Tonnessen-Murray et al. adopted elegant cell-labelling methods using real-time microscopy to observe 'cellular gorging' by drug-treated cells. They discovered that in response to drug treatment, cells that became 'cannibals' were able to outlive their unindulged neighbours.
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