Tuesday, 19 March, 2024
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New findings could spare healthy cells from chemo and radiation

A new study led by Prof Alexey Ryazanov of [b]Rutgers Wood Johnson Medical School[/b] and the [b]Rutgers Cancer Institute[/b], and published in [b]Developmental Cell[/b], suggests that a mechanism can be developed to enable chemo and radiation to kill more cancer and spare healthy cells. In a [s]HealthCanal[/s] report Ryazanov explains that if a way could be found to protect healthy cells, then doses of chemo and radiation could actually be increased. ‘We could also start treating cancers that now can’t be cured because the most effective doses are too toxic to normal tissues.’ The report says the key to Ryazanov’s vision of cancer treatment is addition by subtraction – specifically elimination of eEF2K – an enzyme that influences the rates at which proteins are created in the human body.

[i]Scientists in Sweden have discovered what they are calling ‘an entirely new mechanism’ for fighting cancer – by ‘exploding’ cancer cells[/i]. [s]The Independent[/s] reports that cancer experts at the [b]Karolinska Institute[/b] in Stockholm, the research publishedc in [s]Cell[/s], said they had been able to reverse the growth of brain tumours in mice by giving them a substance called [b]Vacquinol-1[/b], which can be taken in tablet form. The discovery is the culmination of a long search for new cancer treatments, during which scientistsexposed tumour cells to hundreds of different molecules to analyse the effect. Vacquinol-1 has been isolated as the most successful and researchers said they wanted to move quickly to phase 1 trials in humans.

[link url=http://www.healthcanal.com/cancers/48960-discoveries-point-to-more-powerful-cancer-treatments-fewer-side-effects.html]Full HealthCanal report[/link]
[link url=http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1534580714000689]Developmental Cell abstract only[/link]
[link url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/exploding-cancer-cells-scientists-discover-new-way-to-combat-the-disease-9206264.html]Full The Independent report[/link]
[link url=http://www.cell.com/abstract/S0092-8674(14)00220-7]Cell abstract only[/link]

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