Melbourne, 20 November (IANS). A new hope has arisen for the treatment of blood cancer. Australian researchers found a new way to kill cancer cells. According to Xinhua, researchers in Australia discovered a new way to kill cancer cells in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). This is one of the most dangerous and difficult treatments for blood cancer.
According to Xinhua, the team of Australian researchers found that AML cells, especially the stem cells that trigger relapse, depend on a common molecule called heme to survive and grow. Australia’s Peter McCallum Cancer Center also issued a statement in this regard on Thursday.
According to the statement, when this process is blocked, cancer cells die through a newly identified method of cell death called cuproptosis. “By preventing AML cells from making heme, we can trigger kapoptosis. This is a unique mode of cell death, and can effectively kill the cells most responsible for cancer relapse,” said Alexander Lewis, postdoctoral researcher at Peter Mac.
Lewis, lead author of the research, published in Cell and conducted in collaboration with several Australian research institutes, said, “We have discovered a basic weakness in AML cells. This opens the way for new therapies that may be more powerful and longer lasting.”
Each year, about 900 Australians are diagnosed with AML, half of whom relapse after recovery, and the average survival for relapsed patients is between four and six months, the researchers said.
Lewis said, “This discovery could lead to new treatments that not only kill AML cells but also prevent the disease from coming back after initial treatment. It may also be effective in AML that has become resistant to standard drugs.”
The study also identified additional metabolic pathways that could be combined with the heme-blocking strategy to enhance treatment efficacy, the statement said.
–IANS
KK/ABM
