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| Scientists make amazing new breakthrough in cancer research |
SCIENTISTS believe they can cure cancer by harnessing the power of the deadly malaria parasite.
The breakthrough came after research revealed striking similarities between malaria and cancer.
A ground-breaking new treatment could eliminate nine out of 10 types of the disease.
Scientists seeking an anti-malaria vaccine to protect pregnant women knew that the mosquito-borne disease uses a molecule to “dock” on the surface of placenta cells.
Tests showed the same molecule was present on cancer cells in 90 per cent of tumour types.
The scientists realised they could attach a cancer-killing drug to the molecule and smuggle it into tumours in a “Trojan Horse” style attack.
This means that the cancer cells are killed while leaving healthy cells unharmed.
The game-changing treatment could be tested on humans in as little as four years, offering hope to millions.
| Scientists can use a 'Trojan Horse' style attack on cancer |
Professor Ali Salanti of the University of Copenhagen, said the cancer-killing toxin used: “will believe the tumour is a placenta”. His team of Danish researchers made their discovery while studying how the parasite Plasmodium falciparum, a species that causes malaria in pregnant women, attaches to cells in the placenta.
They were looking at ways to immunise mothers and their unborn children against malaria, which kills more than 600,000 people a year.
The placenta and most common cancers have a tell-tale molecule known as chondroitin sulphate A on the surfaces of their cells.
The malaria parasite uses a protein to bind to placental cells, which grows quickly, like an aggressive tumour.
Tests showed the protein, known as VAR2CSA, also binds to cancer cells. Prof Salanti and his team showed that when a cancer-killing diphtheria toxin is attached to the protein it can seek out and destroy deadly tumours.
The leap in understanding how cancer can be isolated and eliminated came in tests on genetically engineered mice with three types of cancer: Prostate, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and a breast cancer.
When given the treatment, the size of their tumours shrank significantly.
The new treatment would be used in tandem with other drugs, possibly in six-month bursts, and administered intravenously like traditional chemotherapy treatment. Prof Salanti said: “The biggest questions are whether it will work in the human body and if the human body can tolerate the doses needed without developing side effects.
“But we’re optimistic because the protein appears to only attach itself to a carbohydrate that is only found in the placenta and in cancer tumours in humans.”
His team has now joined forces with the University of British Columbia in Canada to develop a drug they say “may result in a genuine medical treatment for the dreaded disease”.
The race to find a cure for one of the world’s most feared diseases comes as forecasts show half of us will develop cancer at some point in our lives.
Pascal Meier, of the Institute of Cancer Research, said: “If it turns out the presence of this newly discovered cancer-specific marker is indeed present on the surface of most cancer cells, but absent on normal cells, then this could change the way we will treat cancer patients in future.”
Lucy Holmes, of Cancer Research UK, said: “Targeting cancer cells and killing them, while leaving healthy cells unharmed, is a key goal. This very early research in mice is promising but needs to be confirmed in trials before we know if it will benefit patients.”
This very early research in mice is promising but needs to be confirmed in trials before we know if it will benefit patients
The placenta and most common cancers have a tell-tale molecule known as chondroitin sulphate A on the surfaces of their cells.
The malaria parasite uses a protein to bind to placental cells, which grows quickly, like an aggressive tumour.
Tests showed the protein, known as VAR2CSA, also binds to cancer cells.
The leap in understanding how cancer can be isolated and eliminated came in tests on genetically engineered mice with three types of cancer: Prostate, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and a breast cancer.
When given the treatment, the size of their tumours shrank significantly.
The new treatment would be used in tandem with other drugs, possibly in six-month bursts, and administered intravenously like traditional chemotherapy treatment. Prof Salanti said: “The biggest questions are whether it will work in the human body and if the human body can tolerate the doses needed without developing side effects.
“But we’re optimistic because the protein appears to only attach itself to a carbohydrate that is only found in the placenta and in cancer tumours in humans.”
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| A ground-breaking new treatment could eliminate nine out of 10 types of the disease |
The race to find a cure for one of the world’s most feared diseases comes as forecasts show half of us will develop cancer at some point in our lives.
Pascal Meier, of the Institute of Cancer Research, said: “If it turns out the presence of this newly discovered cancer-specific marker is indeed present on the surface of most cancer cells, but absent on normal cells, then this could change the way we will treat cancer patients in future.”
Lucy Holmes, of Cancer Research UK, said: “Targeting cancer cells and killing them, while leaving healthy cells unharmed, is a key goal. This very early research in mice is promising but needs to be confirmed in trials before we know if it will benefit patients.”
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| The game-changing treatment could be tested on humans in as little as four years |
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