Chemotherapy is a painful ordeal for many of the cancer patients that they stop midway of the treatment. But there is now good news for cancer patients with a team of researchers at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem developing a method that could reduce chemo doses given to patients.
The method developed helps the doctors to deliver the chemo drugs to the affected cells and bypasses the healthy cells. Once the doses are reduced, the side effects of chemotherapy could be reduced. The new method has been devised by a team led by Alexander Binshtok, head of the Pain Plasticity Research Group at the Medicine and Edmond & Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences.
Binshtok was quoted in the media as saying that eliminating the affected cells and leaving the healthy ones would help to reduce the sufferings of the patients. When healthy cells are affected, the patients can undergo several side effects and also have much suffering.
The study focussed on selective expression of TRPV2 protein. Once these are activated TRPV2 protein opens a canal inside the cell membranes. The researchers were able to insert a low dose of doxorubicin, a chemo agent, through the canal, directly into the malignant cells.
Binshtok said that they hoped that this method would help doctors to prescribe lower doses of chemo and relieve patients from the hardships.
Hebrew University of Jerusalem is Israel’s leading academic and research institution. The University is ranked 12th worldwide in biotechnology patent filings and commercial development.
