New combination therapy targets cancer metastasis

  An experimental combination drug therapy that attacks the integrity of the DNA of cancer cells is expected to become a new cancer therapy in the future. Scientists at the University of Alberta use both drugs to increase DNA damage to human breast cancer cells and reduce their ability to repair themselves. Researchers were able to significantly shrink tumors in mice and prevent breast cancer metastasis.

  “Most cancers do not cause death from the primary tumor. Almost all metastases cause death. The subset of cancer cells that cause metastasis has previously been found to be particularly resistant to treatment. Armin Gamper, assistant professor of oncology at UA, said: “But When you combine it with two drugs, these cells become as sensitive as other cancer cells. This is an unprecedented new discovery. I'm. Compared with normal cells, cancer cells have a higher degree of damage to DNA. The purpose of this experimental treatment is to selectively kill cancer cells by targeting DNA repair mechanisms. After the combination therapy, the researchers found that cancer cells that tried to grow on unrepaired DNA failed in the process and died. Researchers also found that compared with traditional cancer therapies (such as chemotherapy), this therapy has almost no side effects.

  "This combination is very tolerable," said Gupper, who is also a member of the Northern Alberta Cancer Institute. "If you can be confident that this therapy is as effective for your patients as mice, it seems to have much smaller side effects, and at least in some cases can replace traditional chemotherapy. It has been in clinical trials alone or Tested in combination with other treatments, but not at the same time. According to the research team, this will greatly speed up the process of combining the two for new clinical trials.

  Gamper and his research team hope to collaborate with healthcare clinicians at the Trans-Cancer Institute of Alberta to begin phase one clinical trials to test people’s resistance to drug combinations. .. At the same time, researchers are expanding the scope of research to other types of cancer, while also working to identify biomarkers, which are the biomarkers that patients benefit most from new therapies. In this way, they can tailor an accurate cancer treatment plan for each patient.

  Gunper explained: “The idea behind this combination is to target multiple cancers, not just breast cancer. Therefore, other tumors that are known to have high levels of DNA damage, such as ovarian cancer, are tested. I’m talking about the colon. Cancer and certain other types of breast cancer start with these tumors first, and then how to affect other tumors that do not have this high level of DNA damage."