Researchers have discovered a specific cell pathway that is activated in small cell lung cancer.

Cigarette smoking causes chronic injury to cells in lung tissue that is likely to lead to cancer. A team at Johns Hopkins University have discovered that this damage is linked with activation of a cell pathway normally turned on in embryonic development.

The oddly-named 'sonic hedgehog' pathway has been in the spotlight recently for its role in cancer. In this study, involving cell lines and mice, sonic hedgehog was found to be turned on in small cell lung cancer, a form of the disease strongly linked to smoking. It might be possible to block the pathway. The researchers are already testing such drugs on mice, including one called cylcopamine. Trials in humans, however, are some years away, but this is a radical new approach to treating a disease which has a very high relapse rate.

Source

Nature 6th March 2003