Chemotherapy

Cancer treatment

Main article: Cancer treatment

2024: NUST MISiS creates local chemotherapy patch to prevent cancer relapses

On May 2, 2024, researchers MISIS University announced the development of a prototype polymeric plaster that will help prevent relapses in the future, malignant tumors as it is able to dose-release chemotherapeutic drugs within a year. The patch is implanted at the site of removal of the primary tumor, so that drugs immediately enter the site of accumulation of residual tumor cells. After 2-3 years, the biopolymers that make up the patch are safely dissolved in the body. The gradual release of drugs over several months allows to increase the effectiveness of postoperative chemotherapy, as well as reduce the side effects of treatment. More. here

2023

How cancer cells resist chemotherapy. Scientific explanation

On October 24, 2023, Australian scientists from the University of New South Wales and Sydney University of Technology reported the discovery of a mechanism by which cancer cells resist the effects of chemotherapy. The discovery in the future is expected to help in the development of more effective methods to combat malignant formations.

Experts say that during cell division (mitosis), microtubules - tiny tubular structures inside the cell - act as levers to evenly separate genetic material and ensure successful production of daughter cells. At the same time, cancer cells divide much faster than healthy ones. To suppress the development of a malignant tumor, chemotherapy drugs directed against microtubules are used.

Mechanism by which cancer cells resist the effects of chemotherapy discovered

Anti-microtubule chemotherapy typically fragments mechanical levers into multiple elements that pull chromosomes in different directions rather than in two as usual. The resulting chaos prevents the correct separation of chromosomes and causes apoptosis, or programmed cell death, says Professor Peter Gunning, one of the authors of the work.

Cancer cells can activate a "rescue mechanism" to stabilize the important structure responsible for division and resist the effects of chemotherapy, researchers have found. This involves the mechanical force created by the edge of the cell. The mechanism is activated if tumor cells detect microtubule fragmentation. In fact, "retraction" of chromosomes into each daughter cell occurs, which ensures reproduction.

Going forward, the researchers will focus on creating drugs that will work in combination with current chemotherapeutic agents to overcome the mechanism of cancer cell resistance.^[1]

ITMO chemists have learned to program cancer cells for self-destruction

Scientists ITMO (St. Petersburg) and the Institute of Organic and Physical Chemistry. A.E. Arbuzova (Kazan) developed compounds that trigger the process of self-destruction in cancer cells. At the same time, they act selectively, without affecting healthy cells. In comparison with the toxicity of antitumor drugs that are used in medicine, the toxicity of the proposed substances is almost 10 times lower. The results of the study are published in the journal Bioorganic Chemistry. This was announced on September 18, 2023 by representatives of ITMO.

ITMO.NEWS

As reported, the lack of drugs that are used in chemotherapy (when suppressing cancer cells and metastases, that is, secondary foci, special drugs are introduced into the human body in courses) is high toxicity and low selectivity. They affect not only sick cells, but also healthy ones, which often leads to severe side effects - for example, weakening the immune system, hair loss, loss of appetite, damage to the mucous membrane of the mouth and throat.

Chemists from St. Petersburg and Kazan proposed compounds with selective toxicity - calixarenes with pyrazole fragments (substances capable of binding to DNA). These are "multi-armed" cup-shaped platforms made of macromolecules that act pointwise on cancer cells.

We synthesized nine such compounds, then treated them with six cell lines - four cancerous and two healthy. The results were compared with the effect of the widely used antitumor drug doxorubicin. The three leader compounds substantially suppressed the activity of the cervical carcinoma cell line (malignant tumor). Healthy cells, among which were chemotherapy-sensitive liver cells, retained their viability. We were inspired by this result, because it indicates low toxicity. Next, we found from blood experiments that red blood cells do not degrade in the presence of calixarenes. says Anton Muravyov, chief author of the study, researcher at the ITMO Scientific and Educational Center for Information Chemistry

Additional confirmation of low toxicity scientists was obtained through in vivo studies. The lethal dose of calixarenes in mice turned out to be several times higher than in analogues used as of September 2023 - up to 80 mg per 1 kg of body weight. At the same time, the effect is reversed on cancer cells: in cervical carcinoma, when interacting with compounds, apoptosis was triggered - programmable cell death.

Cancer cells are like weeds that gradually displace other plants. And it is not a fact that having torn out the weed, you will completely get rid of it - it could have already had time to put down the roots deeper or "spread" the seeds around. So is the tumor. If a healthy cell, "obsolete" of its own, dies, and a new one comes to replace it, then cancer cells resist death, uncontrollably multiply, preventing healthy ones from developing. This leads to the appearance of tumors. It's just that our platforms return cancer cells to a "normal state," "forcing" them to self-destruct. This was achieved largely due to the correctly selected geometry of compounds with "substituted" pyrazole fragments. In addition, we identified in cells a target molecule that binds to our drug - it turned out to be DNA. explained Anton Muravyov

According to the authors of the project, the study began back in 2016 in collaboration with colleagues from the UK. Over the past few years, scientists have replicated the synthesis of target compounds several times and each time obtained the same effect on cell lines, which proves the reliability of the result. Now they plan to test the leader compounds for mutagenicity (the ability to cause genetic mutations in cells), as well as to find out exactly how the platforms interact with the DNA of cancer cells. The project will help in the development of drugs to fight cancer.

The study was supported by the Russian Science Foundation (project No. 21-73-10185).

Biodegradable ultrasound implant that helps chemo target brain to treat cancer created

On June 13, 2023, US researchers from the University of Connecticut reported on the development of a special ultrasound implant that helps chemotherapy affect the brain during the treatment of malignancies. Read more here.

Doctors start using ultrasound implant to get chemotherapy into the brain

On May 2, 2023, American researchers from Northwestern University announced the conduct of clinical trials in humans of an advanced ultrasound implant that allows removing the blood-brain barrier when performing chemotherapy for the treatment of glioblastoma, an aggressive brain tumor. Read more here.

2022: Intravenous Therapy Entered the Market to Prevent Chemotherapy-Induced Pediatric Hearing Loss

On September 20, 2022, Fennec Pharmaceuticals announced the launch of Pedmark (sodium thiosulfate injection) to reduce the risk of cisplatin-related ototoxicity in pediatric patients one month and older with localized, non-metastatic solid tumors. Pedmark is the first and only drug in this area with significant unmet medical demand. Read more here.

2021

In the centers of outpatient cancer care conducted 408.9 thousand chemotherapy

During the whole of 2021, 408,924 hospitalizations were registered in Russian centers of outpatient oncological care () TSAP for conducting. chemotherapy Such data at the end of January 2022 was published by the deputy head, Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation Evgeny Kamkin speaking at a round table in. In To the State Duma 2020, according to calculations, Rosstat 148.3 thousand people underwent chemotherapy at the Central Administrative District against 32.1 thousand in 2019. More. here

Head cooling device announcement to keep hair on chemotherapy

In mid-November 2021, the medical and technological company Cooler Heads Care introduced a cold-capped therapeutic device called Amma. The system should help patients undergoing chemotherapy to keep their hair. The company expects the device to be in the hands of patients in the first quarter of 2022. Read more here.