Cancer Doublet

A combination of already approved drugs treats one of the most dangerous types of cancer

Svetlana Maslova, Hi-tech+

The new approach could be a hope for thousands of people with pancreatic cancer, scientists say. Both drugs are approved for the treatment of other diseases, so human studies were able to begin in record time.

Pancreatic cancer is considered one of the most lethal among other types of cancer. After diagnosis, a person lives from one to five years. Effective therapy has not yet been developed. American scientists have paid attention to existing drugs and claim that the combination they found successfully fights this type of cancer. The results are published on the website of the Huntsman Cancer Research Institute (Promising New Pancreatic Cancer Treatment Moves Forward).

The studied drugs are used separately for the treatment of malaria and melanoma.

First, the team conducted experiments on cell culture, then on mice, and now clinical studies have started. "We went from Petri dish observations to human studies in less than two years," says study co–author Martin McMahon. "This incredible speed."

Clinical trials are planned in various hospitals in the USA. They must confirm the efficacy and safety of the combination of drugs for humans. So far, only initial results are available.

Scientists observed a significant patient response to therapy for several months after taking the drugs. This was the first volunteer who, nevertheless, died of cancer afterwards. Now the team is faced with the task of identifying all possible features of people with this type of tumor in order to increase the effectiveness of therapy.

Another hope for people with pancreatic cancer is immunotherapy. For a long time it was not possible to use it, but thanks to recent research, it was possible to find a promising therapeutic target.

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