British scientists have discovered for the first time a new anti-cancer drug that can put cancer cells to a permanent sleep, stopping the growth and spread of tumors without causing harmful side effects to other cells.
The new drug offers an alternative for cancer patients, and preliminary studies have shown great potential to halt cancer progression and delay recurrence in blood and lung cancer models. Dr Cedric Feschotte, of cancer treatment UK, said the new drug was the first to target KAT6A and KAT6B proteins, which play important roles in the development of cancer. Research suggests that inhibiting KAT6A and KAT6B may be a new way to treat cancer.
"A long time ago, we found that in animal models of cancer with lymphoma, KAT6A lived four times longer than normal cells. Dr Cedric Feschotte said: "recognizing that KAT6A is an important driver of cancer, we began to look for ways to inhibit proteins to treat cancer. And compounds that inhibit proteins have shown great potential in preclinical testing. This new anticancer drug is effective in preventing the development of cancer in the model."
Among anticancer treatments, chemotherapy and radiation can cause irreversible DNA damage. Cancer cells cannot repair the damage and die. The downside is that the treatment causes significant damage to healthy cells, with side effects such as nausea, fatigue, hair loss and susceptibility to infection, as well as long-term effects such as infertility and an increased risk of developing other cancers.
Dr Cedric Feschotte said: "this new cancer drug does not cause DNA damage, as chemotherapy and radiotherapy do, but just puts cancer cells into a permanent sleep. This new compound prevents cancer cells from dividing by blocking the flow of the cell cycle."
Dr Cedric Feschotte says the project has many hurdles to overcome and his team is now working to develop the compound into a drug suitable for human trials.