29
June
2018
|
23:25
Asia/Singapore

Slimming drug could help stop lung cancer cells regenerating, Singapore scientists find

A five-year study focusing on non-small cell lung cancer by scientists from the Cancer Science Institute of Singapore at NUS and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in America has found that lung cancer cells produce a protein known as fatty acid synthase (FASN). This enzyme facilitates the production of palmitate, a saturated fatty acid believed to make lung cancer cells resistant to the chemotherapy drug tyrosine kinase inhibitors. The study revealed that Orlistat, a weight loss drug which was found to block FASN, could prevent the production of palmitate.