Cancer News
Heart drug shows promise against pancreatic cancer
Lab research highlights usefulness of engineering tissue for drug testing
Amedication for heart problems might also be effective in treating pancreatic cancer , say the findings of a new study that used labgrown tissue called organoids to test potential treatments .
�esearchers at �eill Cornell �edicine in the �S grew tumour organoids containing a genetic mutation that drives growth of the most common type of pancreatic cancer , called pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma , and tested more than 6,000 medications to block its development . The drug that succeeded in doing so was the heart drug perhe�iline maleate . �hile the genetically mutated organoids led to cancer growth by producing cholesterol , perhe�iline maleate was able to reverse this production .
��ur findings identify hyperactive cholesterol synthesis as a vulnerability that may be targetable in most pancreatic cancers , � said �r Todd �vans , study co-senior author and vice chair for research in surgery at �eill Cornell �edicine , in a press release .
The use of organoids was crucial to finding a good treatment candidate . �ab-grown organoids made from animal or human tissue are now becoming more common in medical research as they can mimic disease patterns , thus providing useful testing grounds for better treatments .
�This study also highlights the value of using genetically well-defined organoids to model cancer and discover new treatment strategies , � said �r Shuibing Chen , another co-senior author and director of the Center for Genomic Health at �eill Cornell �edicine , in the press release .
Breathing in tiny sensors could streamline lung cancer diagnosis
The technology might offer an easy solution to improve diagnosis in lowresource regions
Inhalable nanoparticles developed at the
�assachusetts Institute of Technology ( �IT ) were successfully used to diagnose lung cancer through a simple urine test .
Nanoparticle sensors are substances that can be easily ingested through a nebuli�er or inhaler and can react with tumour cells to produce specific chemicals that accumulate in urine . They can then be identified with a paper urine test strip in about �� minutes .
The standard diagnostic test for lung cancer is a computer tomography ( CT ) scan , where images of internal tissues are taken through �-rays , but this re�uires high-tech imaging e�uipment that isn ’ t always available , especially in poor-resource areas , and involves potentially harmful radiation .
��hen we developed this technology , our goal was to provide a method that can detect cancer with high specificity and sensitivity , and also lower the threshold for accessibility , so that hopefully we can improve the resource disparity and ine�uity in early detection of lung cancer , � �r Qian �hong , one of the lead authors and an �IT research scientist , said in a press release .
This approach might also streamline lung cancer diagnosis in low-income countries as it could give people test results in one single visit .
�The idea would be you come in and then you get an answer about whether you need a follow-up test or not , and we could get patients who have early lesions into the system so that they could get curative surgery or lifesaving medicines , � said �r Sangeeta Bhatia , a professor of health sciences and technology at �IT , in the press release .
The researchers used mice to engineer lung tumours similar to those developing in humans and found that the sensors were able to diagnose cancer in the animals at an early stage that would e�uate to stage � or � in people . However , to make the techni�ue viable in humans , a greater number of sensors and multiple paper strips may be needed .
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20 ISSUE 6 | 2023 GlobalHealthAsiaPacific . com