Sreemoyee Chatterjee
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Written By: Sreemoyee Chatterjee | Published : August 7, 2018 2:31 PM IST
Anaemia, appetite loss, bleeding and bruising, constipation, delirium, diarrhoea, edema, fatigue, fertility issues in both men and women, hair loss, infection and neutropenia, nausea and vomiting, the list goes endless when we talk about the side effects of cancer drugs. However, now you may have a possibility to avoid these cancer drug reactions. Reason, scientists have come up with a new kind of anti-cancer drug that can make cancer cells dormant permanently without any adverse side effects caused by the conventional cancer therapies. The researchers have pointed out that these drugs are the first anti-cancer drugs that can arrest tumour growth and spread of cancer by putting the cancer cells to sleep without harming the cells' DNA.
According to the study that was published in the Journal of Nature, this new class of drugs can serve as a promising alternative for treating cancer and has shown enough potential in ceasing the progression of cancer in blood and liver cancers. Scientists have observed the efficiency of the new drug in delaying cancer relapse.
According to a report by the Daily Trust, Associate Professor Tim Thomas, one of the lead researchers said these new drugs were the first to target KAT6A and KAT6B proteins which are known for their contribution towards driving out cancer. "Early on, we discovered that genetically depleting KAT6A quadrupled the life expectancy in animal models of blood cancers called lymphoma. Armed with the knowledge that KAT6A is an important driver of cancer, we began to look for ways of inhibiting the protein to treat cancer. The compounds had already shown great promise in pre-clinical testing," said Professor Thomas.
He added: "This new class of anti-cancer drugs was effective in preventing cancer progression in our pre-clinical cancer models. We are extremely excited about the potential that they hold as an entirely new weapon for fighting cancer. The compound was well tolerated in our pre-clinical models and is very potent against tumour cells, while appearing not to adversely affect healthy cells."
Researchers have found that as against the conventional anti-cancer therapies like radiation therapy and chemotherapy, these new drugs put cancer cells to permanent sleep.
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