Blocking a fat-building protein slowed tumor growth in lab and animal tests
Original title: Targeting Phosphatidylserine Synthesis for Tumor Cell Suppression in Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma and Glioblastoma.
How far along is this research?
- Lab cells
- Animals
- Review
- Tested in people
This was done on cells in a lab, not in people. It is a very early step.
This was only done in cells in the lab and in animals, not in people.
The short version
Scientists found a protein that brain tumor cells seem to need, and blocking it slowed tumor growth in early tests.
What was studied. Researchers studied a protein called PTDSS1. It helps cells build a fat they need. The team blocked this protein in cancer cells in the lab and in living animals. They looked at two cancers: glioblastoma: The fastest-growing type of glioma (grade 4). Treatment usually starts soon after diagnosis: surgery first, then radiation and chemotherapy. See the glossary, a brain tumor, and a cancer of the food pipe.
What they found. Blocking PTDSS1 slowed tumor growth in cells and in animals. The tumor cells quickly ran low on two fats they need. That damaged a key part of the cell, and the cells then died. The team also looked at gene data from many cancers. Tumors with more of this protein were linked to shorter survival.
What this means, and what it doesn't
What it could mean: This points to a possible new target for future brain tumor drugs. Tumor cells may depend on this fat in a way normal cells do not. If that holds up, it could someday lead to a treatment. That work has not been done yet.
What it doesn't mean: This is not a treatment you can get. It is early lab and animal work. No people were treated in this study. So we do not know if it is safe or if it works in humans. There is no drug for this yet. It is not a cure, and it is not a promise of one. Years of testing would come first.
Source: PubMed, July 13, 2026 · Read the original
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