An Indo-US team has developed a new medical technology that helps arrest the growth and spread of cancers through a simple injection. It is safe and has no side-effects unlike radiation or chemotherapy. The tumour stops growing within 45 days of taking the injection.
The technology, based on gene therapy, has been successfully demonstrated in animal models for cancers of the brain. The Indian members of the team are now working on breast cancer since India has one of the highest incidences of breast cancer in the world.
“Our gene therapy is based on siRNA (small interfering ribonucleic acid). Once siRNA is introduced into the body of a cancer patient through an intravenous injection, it starts showing results within 45 days. The other alternative is to inject siRNA into the tumour directly. Both the methods worked on animals. Currently, we are in phase III trials, and once we receive the necessary approval, we will take up human trials,” said Dr Ramarao Malla, a member of the Indo-US team.
Dr Rama Rao, who conducted research on brain cancers while he was with the University of Illinois, USA, is currently working on gene therapy for breast cancer in India at the department of biochemistry, Gitam University, Visakhapatnam.
“As part of our gene therapy strategy, we have used siRNA since it targets two key proteins, uPAR (urokinase type plasminogen activator receptor) and cathepsin B, in brain cancer. These proteins are responsible for the growth of tumours both in brain and in breast,” Dr Ramarao said, adding that the team is further researching if the proteins are involved in other cancers too.
In animal models, a single dose injection prevented the growth and metastasis (spread to adjacent tissues). Once the human trials begin, the exact dosage will emerge, he added. This technology has helped in arresting the progression of brain cancer by as much as 85 per cent compared to radiation treatment.
Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer and the leading cause of cancer death among women, accounting for 23 per cent of the total cancer cases and 14 per cent of the cancer deaths worldwide.
Breast cancer is now also the leading cause of cancer death among women in India, a shift from the previous decade during which cervical cancer was the most common cause of cancer death.
The research will also hold promise for the treatment of prostate cancer, the leading cancer in men.
