A recently done study indicates a new form of cancer therapy and treatment. The therapy is based on unrelated malaria and cancer elements. The research established that there is a big chance of success, however, at as now, they have only admitted to the study showing promise in the cancer treatment and therapy development. The researchers or team of scientists, are from major biotech companies who have specialized in pharmaceuticals technology. The tests majorly involved clinical trials.
The researchers established the relation between those elements of cancer and malaria while studying why pregnant women are normally prone or susceptible to malaria disease. While attending to the pregnant women, the scientists mainly consisting of Pharmaceutical and Cancer agency companies found a rare scientific discovery. They found that, the mosquito-borne parasite releases a protein called VAR2CSA. The protein is responsible for binding to a particular type of sugar molecule that is found in the placenta of the pregnant women.
Since the discovery, there have been other studies that have indicated that the sugar molecule, which the parasite produced by the mosquito binds to, is normally found on cancerous cells found in most types of cancer. The scientists indicated that both the tumor and placenta share some common features, for instance, they all show rapid growth and tissue invasion.
The researchers indicated that they have spent more than 25 years developing therapeutics for cancer treatments and it is a rare occurrence for such protein VAR2CSA, to occur in different forms of cancer.
The researchers have designed a technology that can harm antibodies plus other targeting proteins such as VAR2CSA and the rest that have high potency toxins that may be used to kill specific cancer cells. The researchers demonstrated that the sugar molecule could be a target for anti-cancer drugs. Further, they established that, the malarial protein, VAR2CSA could be the key to administering their potent cancer killing toxins to cancer cells and tumors.
After the demonstration, the results were positive as about ninety-five percent of cancer cells were killed after the potent killing toxins were injected in the VAR2CSA proteins. The control test was done on various types of cancer cells including lung, bladder, skin, and breast, prostate, pancreatic, ovarian, brain, blood, and gastric. Nevertheless, the tests were also done on mice that were injected with cancer cells or tumors. The drug indicated that it could prevent the growth of tumors or cancer cells.
The researchers are now developing a drug for clinical trials based on the findings. This is good news to the medical research field. If this is successfully, then cancer patients will not have to worry about the pain and losing their lives to the deadly disease.