There May Finally Be a Kill Switch You Can Support

Researchers say they’ve located a “kill switch” that can trigger the death of cancer cells.

Scientists at the UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center in Sacramento, California, have identified a protein on the CD95 receptor that can “program” cancer cells to die, as detailed in a study published in the journal Cell Death & Differentiation last month.

A receptor is a protein within a cell that receives and transmits signals.

CD95 receptors — also referred to as Fas — have gained the nickname “death receptors” because they send a signal that causes cancer cells to “self-destruct,” according to a press release from UC Davis.