Washington D.C.: A recent study has found that tobacco consumption leads to the formation of precancerous cells that fertilize cancer growth. There have been a lot of studies dedicated to cancer-related topics, exactly how this precancerous field influences cancer has been often overlooked. As part of the study, the researchers wanted to understand how these precancerous cells may impact neighboring cancer. The study explores this communication between precancerous and cancer cells in the context of an enzyme called PI3K.

The enzyme PI3K is activated in many or even most cancers, with some researchers considering PI3K over-activation an essential feature driving the disease. Attractively, PI3K is a "kinase" and the class of drugs known as kinase inhibitors has proven effective against a host of cancer types. Kinase inhibitors have been developed against PI3K as well, and by and large they do a lovely job of killing cancer cells in dishes. The ongoing question has been why PI3K inhibitors do not necessarily work in patients - what are cancer cells doing to resist this therapy that should kill them?