Science
Experts hail ‘ cancer breakthrough ’
By Beezy Marsh , Daily Mail
A drug made from tree bark is being combined with radiation therapy to cure cancer , experts revealed on November 11 , 2016 . The ‘ double whammy ’ has proved 85 per cent effective in laboratory trials . Very recently , the treatment was being hailed as a breakthrough in the battle against the disease which kills 133,000 Britons every year .
British experts who made the discovery are already talking of a ‘ long-term cure ’ for many common types of cancer after seeing astonishing results in a laboratory experiment involving human tumours grown in mice .
The dual treatment could be available to patients within five years . Dr Barbara Pedley of the Cancer Research Campaign is reported as said : ‘ We are excited by these results . Our trial shows that the combination can give a complete cure .’
Killer-T-Lymhotcyte-attacking-a- Cancer-Cel
The tests covered all the major forms of cancer which produce solid tumours , including bowel , breast , liver and lung . The drug , called combretastatin , works by destroying the developing blood vessels which tumours generate to supply themselves . Used on its own , however , it leaves a ‘ rim ’ of cancerous cells at the edge , allowing the disease to return . Radiation therapy completes the attack on the tumour by ensuring all the leftover cells are killed off . Antibodies with radioactive ‘ warheads ’ home in on the disease cells and destroy them .
The advance is part of a new generation of ‘ targeted ’ cancer therapies . Combretastatin , which is derived from the bark of an African bush willow , leaves normal blood vessels untouched .
The dramatic success story came in a study by the Royal Free Hospital and University College Medical School in London , and the Gray Laboratory Cancer Research Trust . The results were published in the journal Cancer Research .
The scientists found that human tumours grown in
Killer-T-Lymphocyte-approaching- Cancer-Cell
Victory : A destroyed cancer cell
mice disappeared completely in 85 per cent of cases .
The animals were still free of the disease almost a year afterwards .
Dr Pedley , head of tumour biology at the CRC ’ s targeting and imaging group at the Royal Free Hospital , said : ‘ This combination can produce long-term cures .
‘ Although we have been mainly looking at colorectal cancer , it works on a very wide range of cancers - all the solid tumours - which includes breast cancer .’
She said scientists believed the outer tumour cells may rely on the body ’ s normal blood vessels , which is why combretastatin could not kill them .
Experts now hope to start human trials of the combination therapy as the next stage . Worldwide tests are expected to begin next year . About 200 patients with a variety of cancers would be recruited to centres in the UK and around the world .
If the trials achieve a similar success rate as those with the mice , they would pave the way for the treatment to become widely available , possibly within five years . Dr Lesley Walker , director of cancer information at the Cancer Research Campaign , said : ‘ This good news confirms what we have been saying all along --treatments that directly target cancers and spare normal tissue will be the therapies of the future .
‘ As well as improving the effectiveness of treatment , this combination should greatly reduce side-effects .’
More than 220,000 people are diagnosed with cancer each year in Britain .
The latest findings back up early clinical trials involving 34 patients from London who experienced massive tumour shrinkage after taking combretastatin .
They were carried out by Professor Gordon Rustin , director of medical oncology at Mount Vernon Hospital in Middlesex .
He said : ‘ The results from the trial in mice are very exciting because we are actually seeing a cure .’
28 Africa Water , Sanitation & Hygiene • November - December 2016