Promising New Class of Drugs for Bile Duct Cancer
Scientists have discovered a promising new type of therapy for bile duct cancer – a deadly disease which in most cases is inoperable and incurable.
New Hsp90 inhibitor drugs, which work by destroying several cancer signals at once, were particularly effective at killing bile duct cancer cells when grown in dishes or transplanted into mice.
The team at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, also uncovered a marker indicating whether cancers were likely to respond well to the treatment.
Cancers that produced a small molecule of RNA called MIR21 seemed able to resist treatment more than those with low levels.
Testing for MIR21 could help judge whether a patient’s cancer was likely to respond to Hsp90 inhibitors, while future drugs that block MIR21 production could be used in combination with Hsp90 inhibitors to increase sensitivity in tumours with high MIR21.
Read more: https://www.technologynetworks.com/drug-discovery/news/promising-new-class-of-drugs-for-bile-duct-cancer-298174
New Hsp90 inhibitor drugs, which work by destroying several cancer signals at once, were particularly effective at killing bile duct cancer cells when grown in dishes or transplanted into mice.
The team at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, also uncovered a marker indicating whether cancers were likely to respond well to the treatment.
Cancers that produced a small molecule of RNA called MIR21 seemed able to resist treatment more than those with low levels.
Testing for MIR21 could help judge whether a patient’s cancer was likely to respond to Hsp90 inhibitors, while future drugs that block MIR21 production could be used in combination with Hsp90 inhibitors to increase sensitivity in tumours with high MIR21.
Read more: https://www.technologynetworks.com/drug-discovery/news/promising-new-class-of-drugs-for-bile-duct-cancer-298174