Researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine have identified a drug called STF-31 that starves and kills some kidney cancer cells by cutting off their energy supply of glucose. STF-31 works by binding to a particular glucose transporter. Testing in mice inhibited glucose transport by about half and resulted in slowed tumor growth with limited side effects and no negative impact on the brain, which also uses glucose for fuel. STF-31 may prove effective in fighting other cancers which require the same glucose transporter for energy production.
Source:
Potential Anti-Cancer Therapy That Starves Cancer Cells of Glucose Identified, ScienceDaily, August 4, 2011