Study May Yield Better Cancer Drugs, Less Chemo

By John Johnson, Newser Staff

Posted Aug 13, 2009 7:51 PM CDT

(Newser) – A breakthrough with cancer stem cells may lead to more potent drugs—ones that pair with chemotherapy in the sort of drug cocktail used against AIDS, reports the New York Times. If borne out, the development—in which researchers figured out how to screen for chemicals that attack only cancerous stem cells—could eventually lead to lower doses of chemo and thus less distress for patients.

The current chemo regimen has a flaw, the Times notes: While it can wipe out 99% of the cells in a tumor, it leaves behind stem cells that can cause the cancer to regenerate. The new findings, which have their share of skeptics, could allow researchers to develop precise drug combos. “We have not been able to do that yet with cancer,” said one scientist involved with the project. “But, if we could, it’s a numbers game, and we win.”

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The new research screened for chemicals that directly attack cancerous stem cells. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)

The finding could lead to more effective drugs to fight cancer stem cells. (Shutter Stock)

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You could probably lower the (chemo) doses considerably with a combination of drugs that attached specific types of cell. - Dr. Piyush B. Gupta of the Broad Institute, a Harvard-MIT collaborative

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