New Insights into Cancer Treatment Side Effects from Australian Research
Understanding Cancer Treatment Side Effects
New Delhi, July 9: Recent advancements in cancer treatments have shown promise in extending patient lifespans, yet they often come with significant side effects that can diminish quality of life.
A recent study conducted by researchers at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research (WEHI) in Melbourne has provided new insights into the underlying causes of these side effects, as reported by a news agency.
The research team identified that the protein MCL-1, which is a crucial target in the development of cancer drugs, not only helps prevent cell death in cancerous cells but also plays a vital role in supplying energy to healthy cells.
This discovery indicates that medications designed to inhibit MCL-1 may unintentionally harm healthy tissues that depend on this protein for energy, particularly in energy-demanding organs such as the heart and liver, which could explain the severe side effects noted in clinical trials.
The findings suggest that the adverse effects may be connected to MCL-1's essential function in cellular energy production, paving the way for the creation of safer and more targeted cancer therapies that minimize damage to healthy tissues while effectively combating cancer.
Dr. Kerstin Brinkmann, the study's lead author, noted that while earlier research in cell cultures hinted at MCL-1's metabolic role, its significance in living organisms was previously unclear.
“These results introduce a novel perspective on the relationship between programmed cell death and metabolism—an area that has been theorized for years but never demonstrated in a living organism until now,” Brinkmann stated.
Published in the journal Science, this study also lays the groundwork for safer combination therapies by allowing for more strategic dosing and the pairing of MCL-1 inhibitors with other treatments to mitigate toxicity.
Andreas Strasser, a researcher and head of the WEHI laboratory, emphasized, "If we can target MCL-1 inhibitors specifically to tumor cells while avoiding healthy tissues like the heart, we could effectively eliminate cancer cells while protecting normal cells."