Malaria drug may play an important role in cancer treatment. Yes, you heard it right. A new study has claimed that a malaria drug called ‘hydroxychloroquine’ closes the openings that create barriers to cisplatin, a drug used in chemotherapy for head and throat cancer. It also maintains the tumor-killing effects of cisplatin in animal models.
Hydroxychloroquine is an anti-malarial drug which inhibits the function of lysosomal (membrane-bound cell organelles).
The research was done by scientists from the University of Pittsburgh and the non-profit University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC). The results of this study have been published in the National Academy of Sciences. To reach their conclusion, the scientists studied the drug on the eggs of chickens and rats.
Sometimes chemotherapy fails
Umamaheshwar Duvuri, a head and throat surgeon at the UPMC Hillman Cancer Center and co-senior author of the research, said, “When caring for patients with head and throat cancer, I often see that chemotherapy fails.
Cisplatin is a very important drug for chemotherapy but tumor resistance to cisplatin is a major problem. He said that my lab is interested in understanding the mechanisms of immunity so that we can find better ways to treat these patients.
TMEM16A protein decreases survival rate
Previous research has shown that a protein called TMEM16A is associated with resistance to cisplatin in patient tumors. This protein is found in about 30 percent of head and throat cancers and is also associated with a reduced chance of survival.
These are the symptoms
Experts say that if you are troubled by cough for a long time and even after taking a lot of treatment, the cough is not going away. So you should be careful and do not take it lightly, it can be an early symptom of throat cancer.