Nutrient deprivation kills kidney cancer cells

(Duke University) Duke researchers have exploited the greedy metabolism of cancer cells to target kidney cell carcinomas, which kill more than 100,000 Americans each year. The team showed that the majority of renal cell cancers rewire their metabolism in a way that leaves them addicted to the nutrient cystine. By depriving the cancer cells of cystine, the researchers were able to trigger a form of cell death called necrosis in tumor cells.