Source: Thailand Medical News Nov 13, 2019 5 years, 1 day, 4 hours, 45 minutes ago
Researchers at Purdue University have come up with a way to combine the
anthrax toxin with a growth factor to kill
bladder cancer cells and tumors.
Anthrax may soon help more people win the fight against
bladder cancer, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says strikes about 72,000 Americans each year and kills about 16,000 and is one of the most expensive
cancers to treat. Globally, about 1.2 million people are diagnosed with bladder cancer each year and about 238,000 died form it in 2018.
Conventional treatments for
bladder cancer are invasive for patients, who often must sit for hours at a time with a bladder full of an agent designed to kill cancer cells and tumors
. Bladder cancer also is one of the most reoccurring for people diagnosed with the disease.
The research is published in the Oct. 4 edition of the
International Journal of Cancer.
Dr R. Claudio Aguilar, an associate professor and the assistant head of biological sciences in Purdue's College of Science told
Thailand Medical News "We have effectively come up with a promising method to kill the cancer cells without harming the normal cells in the bladder. It is basically like creating a special solution that targets cancer cells while leaving healthy cells alone."
Dr Aguilar said the bladder has its own protective layer, which saves the good cells from the
anthrax mixture but offers no protection for the cancer cells and tumors. He said the Purdue system works within minutes instead of the usual hours for
bladder cancer treatment to target the cancer cells in the bladder.
Dr Aguilar who works as part of a team focused on cell identity and signaling at the Purdue University Center for Cancer Research, further added, "We have seen outstanding results with our treatment. It is fast and effective, both of which are critical for people dealing with this devastating disease."
Dr Aguilar and his group worked with the Purdue teams led by Timothy Ratliff and Deborah Knapp to test their solution in dogs with bladder cancer who had run out of other treatment options. They found this new agent decreased the tumor size without causing any other side effects in the animals.
The researchers think a similar treatment may help people and animals with other cancers, including those affecting the lungs or skin.
Reference: Sherwin Jack et al. A novel, safe, fast and efficient treatment for Her2‐positive and negative bladder cancer utilizing an EGF‐anthrax toxin chimera, International Journal of Cancer (2019). DOI: 10.1002/ijc.32719
