Cancer-killing pill that annihilates
tumours hailed as 'holy grail' breakthroughStory by Jim Leffman and Katherine Fidler • 9h ago
Scientists have developed a ‘holy grail’ molecule that
kills all solid cancer tumours, leaving healthy cells
unaffected.
The team at the City
of Hope, one of the largest cancer research and treatment organisations in the US, made the breakthrough against the proliferating
cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) protein.
In a mutated form PCNA
is critical in DNA replication and repair of all expanding tumours, but a
molecule developed by the team, AOH1996, targets and kills the mutated PCNA.
Previously PCNA was
thought too challenging to be a target for therapy, but preclinical research
shows AOH1996 seems to annihilate all solid tumours – without effects on other
body cells.
The team is continuing
to investigate the mechanisms that make this cancer-stopping pill work in
animal models, while a Phase 1 clinical trial test is also ongoing in humans.
However, it is not yet
known if the drug will continue to be taken in pill form once fully developed
and approved for use.
The new therapy is the
result of 20 years of research and development – and is named after Anna Olivia
Healey (AOH), a young girl born in 1996 who unfortunately was not able to beat
cancer.
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