Better treatments for colon cancer may be in sight, thanks to a new study, which reveals new ways in which a single protein could stop the disease in its tracks.
an illustration of colon cancer
Researchers have found new mechanisms by which a protein prevents colon cancer.
Researchers found that a protein known as APC can "put the brakes" on a number of pathways that drive the development of colon cancer.

This discovery could open the door to new drugs for the condition.

Study co-author Dr. Yashi Ahmed — who works in the Norris Cotton Cancer Center at Dartmouth College's Geisel School of Medicine in Hanover, NH — and colleagues recently reported their results in the journal Developmental Cell.

Colorectal cancer — which begins in the colon or the rectum — is now the third most common cancer in the United States. It is also the third leading cause of cancer-related death.