For the first time ever, three
different pharmaceutical companies; Merck,
Roche, and Sanofi,
are testing drugs that, hopefully, will restore a mechanism that normally makes
badly damaged cells self-destruct. This is the norm in our bodies. Remember that
cancer cells are dangerous because they do not self-destruct.
A protein molecule known as p53
normally allows damaged cells in the body to self-destruct but, in about half
of all cancers, it is disabled when another protein molecule found in cancer
cells, MDM2, attaches to it. This stops cancer cell death and allows the cancer
to keep growing. Researchers have long hoped to find a way to restart p53.
Recent research has found ways to
break the two proteins apart, allowing the p53 gene to once again trigger the
death of damaged (cancerous) cells. Testing with mice has been quite
successful.
It doesn't seem to matter whether
the cancer is identified as breast, colon, lung, prostate, cervical, or one of
many other cancers. The process is the same. Current trials are in very early
stages, testing safety and finding a dose that is effective in humans. Small numbers
of people with a variety of cancers will be carefully monitored while the
treatment is tested in clinical trials.
Don’t expect an FDA approved drug
very soon, but the implications are positive. If one medication can treat up to
half of all cancers it would have a major effect on costs, treatments, and
results. Stay tuned.
To put a smile on your face see Larry's latest cartoon.
To learn more about clinical trials, take a look at our book.
(c) 2012 Tom Beer and Larry Axmaker
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