Indian Scientists Come Up With New Method To Reduce Pain During Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy induced neuropathic pain (CINP) is one of the most common clinical complications associated with the use of anti-cancer drugs.

Cancer patients suffer from severe pain as not only the disease, but its treatment also cause unbearable pain. Fear of undergoing chemotherapy and other invasive cancer treatments prevents many cancer patients from visiting hospitals to consult doctors. Now, two Indian scientists from Banaras Hindu University (BHU) have come up with a novel method to cure chemotherapy-induced pain through genetic engineering and nanotechnology.

Chemotherapy induced neuropathic pain (CINP) is one of the most common clinical complications associated with the use of anti-cancer drugs. Dr Nimisha Verma of the department of Anaesthesiology, IMS-BHU and Dr Vinod Tiwari of the department of Pharmaceutical Engineering, IIT(BHU) have found that it may be possible to cure this pain by genetically manipulated and delivered siRNA to target sites by nanotechnology.

A paper describing their study findings was published in the January 2022 edition of Life Science Journal.

Chemotherapy induced neuropathic pain

According to the scientists, chemotherapy induced neuropathic pain (CINP) occurs in nearly 68.1 per cent of the cancer patients receiving chemotherapeutic drugs. They described it as a significant dose-limiting and treatment-limiting side effect of treatment.

Common analgesics and even opioids are less effective against chemotherapy-induced pain. The available treatment for CINP also comes with severe side-effects. Dr Nimisha Verma and Dr Vinod Tiwari have found a solution to this problem through genetic engineering and nanotechnology.

The transient receptor potential cation channel subfamily V member 1 (TRPV1), also known as the capsaicin receptor and the vanilloid receptor 1, is a protein which is widely present in the nerve cells. It is known to play a role in detection and regulation of body temperature as well as provide a sensation of scalding heat and pain. Higher expression of TRPV1 has been associated with chemotherapy-induced pain. Thus, the Indian scientists ventured into research on TRPV1 siRNA formulation.

According to the researchers, the new method involves the blocking of expression of TRPV1 receptor through a small interfering RNA molecule (siRNA).

The novel siRNA formulation has shown quick management of pain without side-effects which would be very effective for the patients, they said.

With inputs from agencies