Cancer’s Last Gasp? Could Be, If Hypoxia Pathway Is Blocked

Low-oxygen conditions ought to suffocate cells, but somehow cancer cells survive. They even progress and spread more aggressively, thanks to a newly identified signaling pathway, the HIF-GPRC5A-YAP axis. Blocking this pathway, scientists suggest, could choke cancer. The pathway appears to be “druggable” because it depends on a G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR), a type of receptor commonly targeted by drugs. Also, the receptor does not appear to be useful to normal cells, so interferi