'Next Generation' cancer treatment ready for clinical trials
May 18, 2012 in Cancer
(Medical Xpress) -- A new class of anti-cancer {*filter*} which control the
growth and spread of cancers and do so with minimal side effects is
being developed by researchers at the University of Sydney.

"These new agents attack a fundamental characteristic of cancer cells
while leaving normal cells alone," said Professor Des Richardson, from
the Bosch Institute in Sydney Medical School.

"They work by binding the iron in tumor cells, preventing them from
growing. We believe they have the potential to be an effective new
strategy, to be 'next generation' {*filter*}, for a range of cancers
including highly aggressive pancreatic cancer.

Because they do not act on non-cancerous cells these new agents
dramatically reduce a range of distressing side effects familiar to
people undergoing cancer treatments such as chemotherapy and
radiotherapy.

Professor Richardson is the head of the Iron Metabolism and Chelation
Program at the University and has been conducting research in this
area since the early 1990s.

The latest research on the chelators is led by post-doctoral
researcher and NHMRC Early Career Fellow, Dr. Zaklina Kovacevic.

In the Journal of Biological Chemistry, published today, the
researchers outline how these new agents increase the levels of a
molecule (NDRG1) which inhibits the spread of cancer, including
prostate and colon cancers.

"Together with a recent article in the journal, Antioxidants and Redox
Signaling, these studies advance our knowledge of cancer cell biology
and how we can target specific molecules to stop cancer progressing,"
Dr. Kovacevic said.

Professor Richardson is currently in advanced discussions on a
licensing deal with an American company for developing the compound to
the stage of clinical trials.

"This will present a significant step forward in the fight against
cancer and provide cancer sufferers new hope for a better outcome,"
Professor Richardson said.

"It is a difficult step to go from the often quoted bench to bedside,
but it has been greatly helped by the Bosch Institute's Translational
Grants program, and by an NHMRC Development Grant."

The Executive Director of the Bosch Institute, Professor Jonathan
Stone stated: "For anyone who has been through, or cared for a cancer
sufferer through, the purgatory of chemotherapy, the prospect of anti-
cancer {*filter*} which are broadly effective but with few side effects is
immensely welcome."

Journal reference: Journal of Biological Chemistry

Provided by University of Sydney

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