Novel Antibody May be Key to Better Lung Cancer Treatment

The AHA! Team — Mon, 30 Sep 2024 08:10:14 +0000

Abigail Klein Leichman via Israel21c – Researchers develop synthetic antibody that, when combined with common lung cancer drug, prevents relapse of adenocarcinoma tumors in mouse models. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths, and the most common form is a non-small-cell type called adenocarcinoma. The main course of treatment today, a kinase inhibitor drug called Osimertinib, is effective for many adenocarcinoma patients. But after a year or more, the cancer usually develops resistance to the drug and the tumor can regrow. Researchers from Israel’s Weizmann Institute of Science just reported their success in developing a novel synthetic antibody that, when combined with Osimertinib, prevents or slows drug resistance and the relapse of adenocarcinoma tumors in mouse models. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths The results were published in Cell Reports Medicine. “When patients take only the drug, there can be relapse and it’s very bad for the patient because the new tumors are more aggressive,” explains lead author Arturo Simoni-Nieves, a postdoc researcher from Mexico who worked on the project in the lab of Prof. Yosef Yarden, his faculty adviser and incumbent of the Harold and Zelda Goldenberg Professorial Chair in Molecular Cell Biology. “The combination of the antibody and the drug targets two different proteins simultaneously in mouse models and helps us avoid the relapsing of the tumors,” Simoni-Nieves says. This phase of the research project took about three years to complete. “Our next task after testing is understanding the mechanism of how it works. Once we get that information, we can think about trying it with human patients,” says Simoni-Nieves. He expects this step to take another two or three years. Future clinical trials would reveal whether this novel antibody can be developed into a new treatment for lung cancer that not only inhibits the disease but also helps prevent its recurrence. “Osimertinib is the only treatment these patients have so far. Maybe with this antibody we can improve treatment,” says Simoni-Nieves. Osimertinib is the only treatment these patients have so far In addition to Simoni-Nieves and Yarden, the paper has 15 contributing authors, most from the Weizmann Institute as well as two collaborating researchers from the Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Osaka University in Japan and three researchers in Italy, from the Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences of the University of Bologna and from the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Rome. They concluded that their EGFR-AXL antibody “holds therapeutic promise.” The study was supported by Merck KGaA, the Israel Science Foundation, the European Research Council, the Israel Cancer Research Fund and the Dr. Miriam and Sheldon G. Adelson Medical Research Foundation. To read the original article click here.

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Anti-Malaria Drug Fights Cancer, 9 Peer-Reviewed Studies Suggest

AHA Publisher — Wed, 11 May 2022 07:00:55 +0000

Sara Middleton via NaturalHealth365 – Can a cheap drug used to fight malaria have a protective effect against cancer? As it turns out, data from at least nine peer-reviewed studies say yes. The drug in question? None other than ivermectin has gained much notoriety thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic and concerns about widespread suppression of early treatments for the viral illness. Nobel Prize-Winning Drug, Considered One of the World’s “Essential Medicines” by the World Health Organization, Also Shows Promise in the Fight Against Cancer Ivermectin certainly became a household name during the pandemic, thanks largely to early laboratory research showing that the drug could inhibit the replication of SARS-CoV-2. While these findings – featured in a June 2020 study by Caly et al. published in Antiviral Research – involved Petri dishes only, the researchers’ work was corroborated with plenty of real-world clinical evidence, as doctors worldwide began treating their COVID-19 positive patients with ivermectin. The treatment appeared to be a great success, at least before health officials began prohibiting or otherwise disincentivizing these doctors from prescribing the drug. However, the apparent success of ivermectin in treating a viral illness like COVID-19 isn’t unusual when we consider the history of the drug. The drug first made the World Health Organization’s List of Essential Medicines in 1987 for its effectiveness against onchocerciasis or river blindness. Ivermectin also has uses against other parasitic diseases, including lymphatic filariasis, strongyloidiasis, trichuriasis, ascariasis, hookworm diseases, scabies, and ancylostomiasis. (Scientists Satoshi Omura and William Campbell were jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2015 for their work in using ivermectin to treat roundworms.) Research – including a study published in the April 2020 edition of The Lancet Infectious Diseases – also finds that ivermectin appears to have anti-malarial benefits. But the benefits don’t stop there. Rounded up nicely in an article published on April 15, 2022, on the website Cancer.news, at least nine peer-reviewed studies show that ivermectin may be able to fight off cancer cells. Among the studies is a 2017 paper from Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, which found that ivermectin could suppress kidney tumor growth while concurrently offering a protective effect on healthy kidney cells. In the Fight Against Cancer, Will Affordable Drug Options Remain Available? A growing body of research shows early support for ivermectin in the treatment of a wide variety of cancers, including kidney, breast, intestinal, lung, colorectal, esophageal, and ovarian cancers. Experts agree that ivermectin appears to have a generally good safety profile. However, as with any drug, ivermectin does have a risk of side effects, including dizziness, vomiting, stomach pain, bloating, nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, weakness, fatigue, uncontrollable shaking, and chest discomfort. The drug’s package insert also warns against the use of ivermectin during pregnancy (Pregnancy Category C), in part because there are “no adequate and well-controlled studies in pregnant women” (nor in pediatric kids weighing less than 15kg, for that matter). The drug is also excreted in breastmilk. Contraindications notwithstanding, it remains to be seen whether the medical and scientific communities will further study this compound for its use against cancer. Then again, the skeptics among us will say that the drug is incredibly inexpensive compared to other conventional cancer treatments … so why would conventional healthcare providers pass on the opportunity to drive profits with pricier care? Sources for this article include: NIH.gov FDA.gov Cancer.news NIH.gov Medlineplus.gov Essentialmeds.org NIH.gov USAtoday.com To read the original article click here.

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Novel Antibody May be Key to Better Lung Cancer Treatment

Anti-Malaria Drug Fights Cancer, 9 Peer-Reviewed Studies Suggest