Double blow to the tumor

Often, malignant tumors resort to several survival mechanisms to survive, which makes it much more difficult to fight them. Usually, to destroy a tumor, it is not enough to affect only malignant cells, an important point is to block the actively growing vessels necessary to supply the tumor with oxygen and nutrients.

Scientists at the University of Missouri have developed a new non-toxic treatment method that effectively destroys breast cancer cells. The method consists in the introduction of a combination of a compound with a small molecular weight acting on tumor cells and an antibody selectively blocking the blood vessels of the tumor.

In 50% of cases, breast cancer cells express the mutant protein p53. According to the results of earlier studies, functionally abnormal forms of p53 are characteristic of actively proliferating and rapidly developing tumor cells. The small molecule PRIMA-1 has a targeted effect on the abnormal protein p53, restoring its normal functions, but this drug alone is not able to stop the growth of the tumor. For the first time, the authors proposed using PRIMA-1 in combination with 2aG4 antibodies that destroy tumor vessels.

During preclinical trials, mice with tumors of human origin were injected with a combination of PRIMA-1 and 2aG4, or one of the drugs. 4 weeks after the start of treatment, animals injected with both drugs showed a significant decrease in tumor growth, significantly more pronounced than in the other two experimental groups. In addition, the combined treatment was not toxic, because the mice maintained a normal body weight and practically no side effects were observed.

The results obtained indicate the prospects of a new method of antitumor therapy, which, according to the authors, has the potential to treat a wide range of tumors.

Portal "Eternal youth" www.vechnayamolodost.ru based on the materials of ScienceDaily

19.06.2008