Global Health Asia-Pacific Issue 5 | 2022 Issue 5 | 2022 | Page 37

Tiny molecules could make cancer treatment more effective
They could help solve the problem of lowered drug concentrations in the blood

Canadian researchers have developed small medicine transporters that can optimally regulate drug concentration in the blood , paving the way for improved chemotherapy in cancer treatment .

A key challenge in the treatment of several conditions , including cancer , is to provide patients with an effective drug dosage as medicines degrade quickly once they are injected in the blood . Typically , only about 50 percent of patients on certain cancer chemotherapies maintain an optimal drug dosage during treatment . Lower dosages can affect treatment efficacy , while giving patients an increased dose can lead to more side effects , which in the case of chemotherapy can be hard to tolerate .
To tackle the problem , researchers at the University of Montreal developed artificial molecules that can be programmed to maintain specific drug concentrations of doxorubicin , commonly used against breast cancer and leukaemia .
“ More interestingly , we also found that these nanotransporters could also be employed as a drug reservoir to prolong the effect of the drug and minimize its dosage during treatment ,” said Arnaud Desrosiers , a PhD student at the University of Montreal and first author of the study , in a press release . “ Another impressive feature of these nanotransporters ,” he added , “ is that they can be directed to specific parts of the body where the drug is most needed - and that , in principle , should reduce most side effects .”
In mice , the new molecules managed to keep doxorubicin 18 times longer in the blood while reducing toxicity to the heart . As a result , the animals were healthier and returned to normal weight .
The hope is that the same could be achieved in patients , especially those with blood cancers as the new molecule is able to keep the drug in the blood for a longer period .
Existing drug may prevent common side effect of chemotherapy
Common treatment for multiple sclerosis could prevent cognitive impairment in patients undergoing the dreadful treatment
“ A significant number of patients who undergo cisplatin treatment are affected by persistent cognitive impairment — [ there are ] millions of individuals whose daily lives are really impacted ,” said Dr Daniela Salvemini , study leader and professor of pharmacological and physiological science at Saint Louis University , in a press release . “ So , if we can find something that can prevent it , it would really be groundbreaking .”

US researchers have identified a potential treatment to prevent chemo brain , a condition characterised by memory lapses and lack of mental sharpness that often affects patients on chemotherapy .

A study conducted on mice showed that the chemotherapeutic drug cisplatin caused higher levels of the molecule S1P to accumulate in brain areas that regulate memory and information processing , leading researchers to posit these deposits could lead to chemo brain by altering cell activities and causing inflammation .
This notion was reinforced by the observation that treatments targeting a brain receptor for S1P managed to prevent chemo brain in animals that received cisplatin . These treatments for S1P have already been greenlighted by the US Food and Drug Administration to treat multiple sclerosis , so they may be easier to use for patients with cancer if they are proved to be effective against chemo brain .
GlobalHealthAsiaPacific . com ISSUE 5 | 2022
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