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PEA-15 can also be found in concentrated amounts in the nervous system. This means that the protein PEA-15 could be used to prevent malignant growth in the other areas of the central nervous system. Maybe this protein could be extracted into a medicine to prevent the ERK enzyme from growing and and kill of the cell completely. It is fascinating to see that cells, whenever they need to, can trigger themselves to self-destruct.

Wow. If this research plays out, how hard could it be to just move the protien or maybe synthesis it to another location. Finally, Could all those walks I did for cancer really be worth it. If the suicide rate of the cells be managed then would it be a matter of the patient sitting for a few hours and let the lysosomes do the work. Mrs. Ferguson! I can’t believe it, could modern medicine finally bring peace to cancer victims! Happy Thanksgiving!

I think its neat that the cells some how know when to commit suicide to prevent the spread of the cancer. If the PEA-15 could be concentrated maybe it could be used as a way to treat cancer without the harmful side effects that chemotherapy produces. Also why just these certain cells. Maybe this protein if injected into tumors could prevent some cancer from spreading.

I can’t believe I haven’t heard of this already. This could very well be a successful alternative to chemotherapy when treating cancer without all of the harmful side effects. And it seems so simple!

This is amazing. What it sounds like is that PEA-15 can be used to terminate cells early. This means that cancer cells and tumors could be destroyed by using PEA-15. If a way to target cancer cells with extracted or synthetic PEA-15 were to be developed, then cancer could virtually be defeated. It could be used to kill cancer cells and practically cure cancer.

Science proof once again that the human body is simply remarkable. Microscopic cells have significant responsibilities that it must sustain in order for life forms to survive. It is impressive that lysosomes are the bodies’ personal cleaning service and remove the debris and other forms of waste. However, it is a bit ironic that lysosomes assist cells to die, so organisms may live.

This new discovery is amazing and like others have said before could be a great alternative to chemotherapy. If only PEA-15 could be extracted and duplicated to help others in need. What we now need to know is how to do that. The presence of PEA-15 could very well lead to the aid in survival of many different types of cancer. Now we just need to figure out how to do it.

It seems like it is only a matter of time before other proteins like PEA-15 will be discovered and used to fight other types of cancer.

Wow! It just amazes me how far modern science has taken us. We might have actually found a way to cure ovarian cancer! I agree with Katie that it is only a matter of time before we are able to harness the power, to cure other types of cancer, from proteins such as PEA-15. This seems like such a harmless way to cure cancer and it seems like a great alternative to chemotherapy. I am excited to find out about the next break-through cure these researchers might uncover. This research also gives hope that someday we might cure some of the most malignant diseases known to mankind.

The potential for research in this particular field is enormous- people (very, very wealthy people) and organizations will be more than willing to provide the funds necessary to expand in this field of research. However helpful this might be in other areas of the body besides the ovaries, no further experimentation should be performed to explore the effects PEA-15 may have in the brain. The brain is a vital organ of ours, without which we cannot live. A woman can live without her ovaries- the operation is performed widely and with a reasonably low risk. But operating with the brain is extremely dangerous and a last resort in most all cases. However, if PEA-15 can be proven useful more times than it is proven useless, further research may be funded and explored.

This could be the cure to cancer; in the future, one just heads to the doctor, gets a shot of PEA-15, and heads home. But like most things, there are probably going to be negative side affects from messing with cells. We could produce entirely new diseases, that are even worse. So this is a field we need (like all fields that mess with the human body) to be careful in.

Decades ago, the concept of a cure for cancer was unimaginable and highly doubted; however, as science and technology advance with the progression of time, this goal seems more and more realistic and possible. The recent studies of PEA-15 and its effects on probable cures for cancer will definitely lead to extended research in this field.

This seems like such a simple solution, I can’t believe it took this long to find it. Feels like it was hiding in plain sight all along! I can’t wait for the day that cancer becomes like influenza, in that people get it all the time but they can get over it in a few weeks. Once upon a time, Influenza killed a lot of people and I bet when someone discovered the cure for that, they felt a lot like we do now.

This is exciting news! I mean, a possible alternative cure for cancer? That’s huge! But I think thorough research still needs to be done about the effects of the PEA-15 on other healthy cells, just as chemotherapy usually damages healthy cells while destroying healthy cells.

If PEA-15 can be extracted and used to fight cancer cells this would be a huge step in the right direction. People wouldn’t need to rely on harsh chemicals and drugs such as those used in chemotherapy and those people that chemo does not have a positive effect on would greatly benefit from this discovery. I hope that we will develop a safe and successful use for this protein in the future.

That’s interesting… so, if ovarian cancer cells have PEA-15, then why don’t other cells? Or, more importantly, would they be able to spread this protein? It would be a drastic change in the way cancer is treated – maybe even help us create a cure.

Hm… this could be an excellent jump forward to helping those who suffer from cancers, but it also brings something else to mind: what would happen if PEA-15 was introduced to the wrong area? Would it affect the cells that are needed, instead of those that are unwanted? Say, for example, it was introduced in the brain. Would it only contribute to the death of brain cancer cells, or would it spread to other ones that are needed? Worrisome thoughts.

So the PEA-15 protein helps destroy ovarian cancer. It just seems weird that if scientist have found the nature of these protein, then i’m curious about the limitations of the proteins? Couldn’t a scientist extract the proteins and let them replicate or reconstruct their effects?

I agree with Melyssa and Victoria that research needs to be done in order to determine the effects of PEA-15 on surrounding cells. Thorough research must be conducted before PEA-15 can be used in cancer treatment. Still this sounds like a promising method with beneficial results.

This actually reminds me of my trip to Carlsbad Caverns. While there, I learned that researchers had found a bacteria that only attacked cancer cells. I had found out that cancer cells had a different chemical make-up of their membranes compared to healthy cells. These bacteria, even though they did not destroy the cancer cells, could correctly identify them from the healthy cells by the cell’s chemical coding.

If significant amount of PEA-15 can be removed from cancer cells early enough before the cancer has metasized or has gone into full gear, then one would be led to believe that cancer could be mostly taken out and that cancer would an enormonously less of a threat or issue in our society.

This is an amazing breakthrough in the medical society and it gives me tremendous hope. My best friend’s dad is currently undergoing chemotherapy for advanced colon and liver cancer. It would make it so much easier for her if her dad didn’t have to be so sick all the time. If I had the funds to do so, I would invest generously into expanding research in this particular field. Cancer is simply unregulated and unnatural cell growth- this seems such an obvious solution that I wonder why we haven’t thought of it before! To take the nature of a cell and turn it onto itself is briliiant- like inserting DNA into a virus to create an immunity or a vaccine. Again, I’m amazed at the obvious simplicity.

I agree with Victoria and Brandon about using proteins like PEA-15 as an alternative way for cancer treatment so that the cancer patient wouldn’t necessary have to deal with chemotherapy. I hope that researchers could identify other proteins like PEA-15 which would have good success rate in treating cancers.

The presence of PEA-15 in other types of cells in theory could affect the survival rate of those cancerous cells and their ERK enzyme, but until further studies are done we can’t know for sure. Using the technique of introducing PEA-15 to cancer cells could very well be a new treatment that could prevent ERK from doing its job.

I believe PEA-15 could potentially be used as a cancer treatment for other parts of the body (like a shot?), but more research should first be done to see if they have the same effect on the different cells. However, as Lesly pointed out, the PEA-15 could have harmful effects on these other cells, making it possible for other cancers or diseases to show up.

Camden makes a good point about having other proteins avilable. Possibly there are other proteins that would act in a similar way but are present in different parts of the body, or act more selectively.

This is an intriguing method to save a life from cancer. Surely this method would be far favored than chemotherapy, yet the possibility that bodies of tissues near the cancer site may become high in the PEA-15 value. The possibility that this happens is highly probable for cancer cells metathesizes, latching and corrupting all cells up and down the bloodstream. The chance of risk is too high to actually use this method, for if the PEA-15 levels in the surrounding tissues increased due to a proximity tumor, then the result would be ask if someone dumped acid onto their organs. Although a prime idea, the risks of taking such a procedure hinders its true potential.

Well hopefully in the future scientist will find a way to synthesize this and use it to fight off cancer, but they will still have to be careful because the side effects has the potential to be detrimental to other cells and could cause serious problems. But I believe this research has the potential to greatly benefit those who suffer and will suffer from cancer.

How exactly will this cell suicide be limited to only cancerous cells? I can see a very bad outcome if that is not addressed, in which all of a person’s cells commit suicide. Makes for great science fiction, but that would be a tragedy in real life.

This is really exciting news! To think that something as simple as this could cure cancer, or increase survival rates drastically is unreal. It makes sense that the body would find some way to use its natural resources as some sort of an immune system to fight cancer and this is promising news!

If it is shown that the presence of PEA-15 improves and increases the survival rate of cancer patients with ovarian cancer, in theory, the presence of PEA-15 in other cancerous cell type should in fact increase the rate of survival. With this introduction of PEA-15 into a cell that usually has no presence of it problems surfacing from the interaction are plausible but science will never know until further studies are in fact persued. These future studies will potentially and hopefully lead to new treatments universal to cancers present within the human anatomy.

The news that lysosomes can destroy ovarian cancer cells shows how much science has progressed and how close we are to finding cures various diseases. I think that the other cells affected by the ovarian cells do have high levels of PEA-15, and so this could lead to less survival of of these cancer cells. But if all these cells have high levels of PEA-15 wouldn’t they all just end up dead? so probably just the cells that come in direct contact with the Ovarian cancer cells have high levels of PEA_15.

i am confused as to whether PEA-15 appears only in malignant cells or also benign cells~
For this study to progress and discover if this could actually prove to be a cure for cancer and other such diseases, they need to test other possibilities as well. If this self-destructing protein is found in most cells, even the good ones, then it could also prove to be harmful for us.

Ellie makes an interesting point about other cells committing suicide. That would be more harmul than helpful if that were the case. Before further research is done on cancer cells in extremely vital cells such as those in the brain, I think it would be most beneficial to find effects of the PEA-15 in ovarian cancer cells first.

Since PEA-15 basically tells the cell when to kill itself then the insertion of the protein into cancer cells could basically cure cancer. However, we need to find out the affects of PEA-15 on noncancerous cells, an affective delivery system, and the affects of the protein in the body. PEA-15 might be able to kill cancer, but will it create more problems than it can solve.

PEA-15 is known as “death effector domain” protein, but why is it PEA-15 that has been given this name other than the fact that it causes cell death. What I mean to say is that why other than causing cell death has it received this name.

With the discovery of a protein known as PEA-15 and the fact that this protein is positively correlated with a higher level of autophagy in cells, does this not bring to the attention of researchers that there may be other proteins of the such that lead to the same effect? Even though this protein only shows up in abundance in ovarian cancer cells maybe there is a protein in other types of cells. Basically, with the knowledge at hand researches need to throw their projects into high gear and begin to study the chances of proteins that increase the rate of autophagy being present in other types of cancer cells. Thus leading to the increased chances of various cancer treatments in society.

Many complications could arise from experimenting with the effect PEA-15 has on various cancers of the brain. Studying the effects of PEA-15 on ovarian cancer has proved helpful and revealing, however conducting these same studies on the brain has a higher risk of damage. The brain is much more complex than the ovaries and the ovaries are not as necessary for living as the brain is. If a risk avoidant and accurate procedure could be used to experiment with the PEA-15 present in the brain cells then it would be to our advantage to conduct them.

By researching how to accurately reduce the number of PEA-15 levels in women, ovarian cancer would effect alot less than the 15,000 women it kills annually. By decreasing these levels you could treat ovarian cancer in the first stages, when it is most optimal to treat and perhaps it would be easier to identify in these early stages.

So if there is such a “death effector domain” dedicated to the ovarian cells and possibly even brain cells, then there must be something of the same nature for other cells. If not then I am curious to why or why not? Obviously PEA- 15 would have to be tested and observed for longer periods of time, but it is pretty cool considering the recent concerns based on the topic of HPV and the linkage that disease has with Ovarian Cancer.

It is always awesome when cures for terrible diseases are found. History has proven time and time again that mankind can defeat the viruses that try to bring it down. With technology always becoming more complex and intricate, cures like the one explained in this article become closer to grasp and figure out.

Funny thing is I do need to digest food particles, there are a couple mitochondrion on their last legs, and my cell did just engulf a bacterial cell or virus. Thankfully my lysosmes were there to save the day. It’s weird, I didn’t know something so small could help me get rid of so much. I love those little guys.

It is pretty strange that ovarian cells express PEA-15. I wonder if this means that if I get cancer, I could collect some ovaries and then extract the PEA-15 and make the cancer commit suicide. Or maybe not.

I agree the science of the human body is absolutely amazing. I have also heard of this process taking place in lung cancer cells. This process significantly slowed the advancement of lung cancer and in some studies, have resulted in a lower risk of developing cancer.

I also agree with Ellie…although cell suicide is potentially beneficial, it is also potentially detrimental. The worst case senario could end up hurting more than helping. Extensive research and testing must be exhibited before it becomes a cancer treatment.
The idea as a whole is very positive though… knowing that one day there could be a cure for cancer.

I’m also kind of confused. What exactly makes it so that these cells have a higher level of PEA-15? I mean does the person who has cancer just get lucky? And does the PEA-15 only react to the ERK if it’s at elevated levels or whenever both are present within a cell? Also, Lesly has a good point. If the interaction between PEA-15 and ERK can significantly increase the survival rate, is there any way to somehow inject or spread them to the cancer cells?

I was just curious. How do only certain cells end up having a higher level of PEA-15? I mean if it’s a mutation or something, wouldn’t the cancer cells eventually learn it’s probably not best to have an extra protein that causes them to kill themselves? And it couldn’t be a completely different cell right because those would probably all eventually die unless they happen to multiply faster than they kill themselves. This research does sound promising, but I think it’s going to be difficult to control the cancer cells and avoid killing more healthy cells than we mean to.

What PEA-15 sounds like is a possible and permanent cure for cancer. But can it work for all cells in the human body? If we could synthesize and modify the structure of PEA-15, then we could end cancer permanently.

This is so exciting! This auspicious discovery may just be the gateway to curing cancer! Like many others have stessed, utilizing proteins like PEA-15 offers a great alternative to the agonizing effects of chemotherapy and radiaton. Extracting the protein PEA-15 and injecting it into the cancerous environment may be the solution to obliterating cancer once and for all. But, would’t we have to expose the harmful ERK to such environments first? PEA-15 kills cells by interacting with the protein ERK, taking it from the nucleus to the cytoplasm and thus engaging in autophagy. We would have to be very careful in the exposure of ERK to the targeted unnatural cells as it inhibits even more unnatural cells, leaving detrimental consequences.

Cells seem to be filled with all sorts of cool little tricks to keep the body going. This is quite a unique situation though, a cell that kills itself for the good of a body. Much like the samurai of old it seems. However if this certain protein could be harnessed and synthetically produced it would do wonders with cancer. If it worked with every cell then cancer would of met its mach. Simply inject it into the tumor and down goes the cell, cancer and all. This would mean that all cancerous cells would die, and without any additional harm to the body.

I also think it’s interesting that a cell contains an organelle with the ability to kill the cell. I never realized that lysosomes had some many diverse features that aid the cell.

The job that lysosomes are doing is very exciting in finding effective treatments, and eventually a cure for cancer. So many loved ones are lost to cancer and with this discovery, lysosomes should be tested with other types of cancer at different ph levels. These results may lead to other discoveries and every piece of data collected can be used efficiently in finding more effective treatments for cancer.

If ovarian cancer cells contain higher levels of PEA15, other cells affected by ovarian cancer would also have higher levels of PEA15. This higher level could help increase the survival rate of cancer victims with the help of proper research and experimentation. ERK is killed by the PEA15. I think that over time as the PEA 15 keeps doing its job, the ERK will eventually not be in the cells where the cancer once was because the every time it is produced, it is immediately targeted and killed.

PEA-15 prevents the spread of cancer through the induction of autophagy. However, I was wondering how fast this interaction between ERK and PEA-15 occurs? Does the reaction happen immediately after a cell becomes cancerous or does it take some time, meanwhile allowing the cancer to spread to other cells?

I think its funny that people keep looking into chemicals, that have failed again and again, for answers while they have a strong contender on their side: the mind. although sounding absurd, its almost as reasonable as the solution presented here. For example, i have a church member who has survived ovarian cancer, she had faith in God and was always positive about her situation, even though she was around the 3rd or 4th stage of the cancer. Yet, on the day of operation, they saw that the areas where the tumors were located, were abnormally enlarged making the surgical procedure remove over 70% of the cancer. Although it appears preposterous, keep in mind that the brain does secrete chemicals and injects them, or commands another gland, into the body to ward off anything that harms it, as its been doing since we’ve been born.

It is fascinating how PEA-15 is able to eliminate ERK out of our body. Although all the ERK is eliminated from the female’s body will too much of a concentration of PEA-115 in one’s body cause other problems to occur or would those factors be neglected?

I understand how killing off a cell early can have many beneficial effects, but it can also be very harmful to the cell. Maybe the pH of a cell is thrown off-balance by something not entirely harmful, and the lysosome bursts because it thinks the cell is under attack. This would just mean the unnecessary death of a cell, and if this trend continued, it could mean the deaths of many more.

This is pretty interesting, this could drastically change the way we see cancerous cells and maybe even find a cure. This passage made me think of a program I was watching the other day on discovery channel about the amazon rain forests. Many scientist have been studying this particular tree bark, I dont remember what it was called, but the people who live around the amazon use this bark and other parts of the tree to try and get rid of cancer in some people. I thought that this was interesting in contrast with this article because it would be two different types of reactions in the body that would be inhibiting the cancer, and therefore more ways to maybe even one day cure it.

If PEA-15 were to be found in other cells, not just ovarian, then the survival rate of cancer patients would increase. This research has so many possibilities. These possibilities could be extended to the entire body, even when our research becomes more extensive, what could keeps up from extracting this PEA-15 from certain cells and putting it into others. Of course this would be rather risky in itself but the possibilities are out there.

im curious to know as to why PEA-15 protein is exclusive to ovarian cancer cells?

Since i am interested in going in to the medical field, this is very good to learn, since this can provide alternate treatments for patients with cancer, avoiding harmful chemotherapy and all the adverse effects it has on the body.