America of a famous hospital Scientists by Cancer A cell-killing drug has been developed that destroys solid tumors through ‘targeted chemotherapy’.
The pill contains a protein, for example, that acts like a ‘blizzard that can shut down an airline’s main hub and thus stop the flow of only planes carrying cancer cells.’
The protein was developed by a research team at City of Hope Hospital, one of the largest cancer research and treatment organizations in the United States.
A molecule called AOH1996 works by targeting the cancer variant of PCNA, a protein important for DNA replication and tumor growth.
Developed over the past two decades, this drug has proven effective in clinical research to treat breast, prostate, brain, ovarian, cervical, skin and lung cancers.
In this study, published in the medical journal ‘Cell Chemical Biology’, this protein was tested on more than 70 cancer cell lines.
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The results showed that the AOH1996 molecule selectively killed cancer cells by disrupting the normal reproductive cycle of the cell. The next step is to advance these findings through clinical trials in humans.
Dr Linda Malkas, PhD, Professor of Molecular Diagnostics and Experimental Therapeutics at City of Hope and MT&BA Professor of Molecular Oncology, Ahmadineja said: ‘PCNA is like a large airline terminal hub with a More air gates are included. The data showed that PCNA is uniquely mutated in cancer cells and this fact helped us develop a drug that would target only the mutated form of PCNA in cancer cells. is.’
He added: ‘Our cancer-killing drug is like a blizzard that shuts down a major airline hub only to stop all flights carrying cancer cells.’
According to him: ‘The results have been promising. AOH1996 can inhibit tumor growth as a monotherapy without inducing toxicity in cell and animal models. The investigational chemotherapy is currently in a phase one human clinical trial at City of Hope.’
The study’s lead author, Long Guo, associate research professor in the Department of Molecular Diagnostics at Beckman Research Institute in the City of Hope, added: ‘No drug has ever targeted PCNA therapeutically. was made because it was considered ‘untreatable’ but clearly City of Hope was able to develop an investigational drug to target a challenging protein.’
According to him: ‘We discovered that PCNA is one of the possible causes of increased nucleic acid replication errors in cancer cells. Now that we know the specific part of the problem and can prevent it, we will go deeper to understand the process to develop more personalized and targeted cancer drugs.’
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How does the targeted approach of AOH1996 minimize potential side effects compared to traditional chemotherapy?
**Interview with Dr. Linda Malkas on Targeted Chemotherapy Breakthrough**
**Editor**: Thank you for joining us today, Dr. Malkas. You recently led a research team at City of Hope that developed a new pill designed to kill cancer cells. Can you tell us about how the drug works?
**Dr. Malkas**: Thank you for having me. Our drug, AOH1996, functions through a targeted chemotherapy approach. You can think of it as a “blizzard” that disrupts the main hub of an airport, halting the flow of planes, which in our case are the cancer cells. It specifically targets a mutated version of the protein PCNA, critical for DNA replication and tumor growth.
**Editor**: That sounds promising. What cancers does this drug have potential to treat?
**Dr. Malkas**: AOH1996 has shown effectiveness in preclinical research across a variety of cancers, including breast, prostate, brain, ovarian, cervical, skin, and lung cancers. We conducted tests on more than 70 cancer cell lines, and the results have been very encouraging.
**Editor**: What are the next steps for this research?
**Dr. Malkas**: Our next step involves advancing these findings into clinical trials with human participants. We need to determine how well this drug performs in humans and monitor its effectiveness and safety.
**Editor**: In your study published in ‘Cell Chemical Biology’, you mentioned PCNA’s unique mutation in cancer cells. How does this discovery contribute to the targeting mechanism of AOH1996?
**Dr. Malkas**: Exactly. PCNA behaves like a major hub with multiple gates that can be uniquely altered in cancer cells. By focusing on these specific mutations, we’ve crafted a drug that selectively disrupts cancerous cells without affecting normal ones, minimizing potential side effects.
**Editor**: This is a remarkable step forward in cancer treatment. Thank you, Dr. Malkas, for sharing your insights with us today.
**Dr. Malkas**: Thank you for having me. We are hopeful about the future of this treatment and its potential impact on patients.