Sex, viruses and cancer
Viagra turned out to be the perfect killer of escaped cancer cells
The combination of viagra and one of the flu vaccines proved to be a very effective tool in the fight against cancer metastases, according to an article published in the journal OncoImmunology.
"Two already proven and relatively cheap drugs can solve one of the most important problems in the fight against cancer. If our findings are confirmed in clinical trials, the combination of Viagra and the vaccine may be the first means to solve problems with immunity that arise after the removal of tumors," said Rebecca Auer from University of Ottawa (in a press release Sex, viruses and cancer: Erectile dysfunction drugs and flu vaccine may work together to help immune system fight cancer after surgery – VM).
Viagra, as recent experiments show, turned out to be not only a means to combat problems in men's personal lives, but also a candidate for the role of a cure for serious diseases. For example, two years ago, doctors discovered that sildenafil, the main component of these pills, has antimicrobial and anticancer properties.
Viagra and its analogues inhibit the work of the enzyme phosphodiesterase-5, which controls the blood flow in the genitals of men, as well as the activity of certain types of immune cells. After removal of the tumor, many components of the immune system are suppressed, and, as scientists have suggested, blocking PDE-5 can restore them.
Auer and her team tested this idea by observing how combinations of viagra and various drugs already used in medical practice affect the lives of mice to which they implanted several aggressive cancerous tumors extracted from a human lung.
When rodents metastasized, scientists removed part of the tumors and injected large doses of Viagra in combination with one of the popular flu vaccines, which served as a kind of bait for immunity.
As experiments have shown, on average, there were about 40 metastases in the mouse body before the operation, and after the removal of the tumor, if the doctors did nothing, their number grew to 120-150. The animal died quickly, and the chances of its salvation were zero.
If doctors injected mice with viagra and its analogues or their combination with the flu vaccine, the number of metastases decreased to 24 in the first case and to 11 in the second. The reason was that the suppression of PDE-5 stimulated the work of the "killer cells" of the immune system responsible for fighting cancer, and neutralized other corpuscles responsible for suppressing immunity. Now, as Auer notes, her team is organizing the first clinical trials, in which 24 volunteers from the Ottawa Hospital will participate, preparing for the removal of tumors in the abdominal cavity. If the experiment is successful, Viagra can quickly take the place of one of the most effective means to combat metastases.
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