Tumors have always been feared for they are often linked with cancer. With tumors disturbing the body's cell division, it's about time that modern medicine has found a way to stop the troublemaker without invasive surgery but with a drug.

Scientists, led by David A. Cheresh, professor of pathology and associate director for translational research at the Moores Cancer Center, along with researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, have developed a drug called KG5 which stops the division of all tumor cells by binding it and altering its structure. KG5 specifically targets the enzyme called RAF, which was found to be critical in cell increase and growth of tumors.

Cheresh cited that current cancer drugs that target the enzyme, RAF, lack specificity and as a result hit many different targets which can lead to negative side effects. Even worse, tumor cells often develop resistances to the drugs of today, which make them unable to stop the cancer.

The scientists said that KG5 is a step up to the current class of RAF inhibitors which do not bind the enzyme making. This new class, called allosteric inhibitors, binds and changes the shape of the enzyme leaving it inactive. What's remarkable with the new drug is that it singles RAF out and ignores normal cells, thus avoiding harmful side effects.

The drug, proving to be consistent, has produced similar results in its tests on cancer cell lines in animal models and in tissue biopsies from human cancer patients.

Currently, the scientists have developed a version of the KG5 which is 100 times more powerful in the hopes that it will soon enter clinical trials at the Moores Cancer Center.

Tumors: An Understanding and Its Symptoms

Tumors form when cells divide excessively in the body. Cells are usually created to replace the old or damaged ones. However, this 'cell life-cycle' can be disturbed, and when this happens, tumors may form.

Aside from the cells' disruption, there are other things that trigger tumors to grow, reported The New York Times. Some of these factors that may encourage tumor growth are:

- Drinking too much alcohol

- Excessive exposure to sunlight

- Obesity

- Radiation

- Viruses

- Genetic problems

- Chemicals and toxins, as well as environmental toxins

Having identified what causes tumors, what are its symptoms? Because tumors may grow in different parts of the body, it has many different symptoms that may only start showing when it has reached a more advance stage. But for most tumors, tell-tale signs of it are chills, fatigue, fever, loss of appetite, night sweats, and weight loss.