'Master switch' drug could treat different cancers

London, July 11 (ANI): An experimental 'master switch' drug could be effective against a wide range of cancers, a new study has revealed.

The enzyme-blocking drug, called a kinase inhibitor, targets a number of pathways that manage the growth and death of cancer cells.

It acts like several different drugs working at the same time.

Scientists think that switching off cell signals at multiple points should make cancer treatment more successful and delay drug resistance.

Laboratory tests showed that the new drug, given the codename AT13148, could kill a variety of cancer types including sarcoma, breast and prostate.

"Our study shows that this drug is effective against a range of tumour types, and operates by blocking multiple targets," the Daily Mail quoted Dr Michelle Garrett, from Cancer Research UK's Cancer Therapeutics Unit at the Institute of Cancer Research in London, as saying.

"These promising results have led to the decision to take the drug into patient trials," she said.

The collaborating scientists from Astex Pharmaceuticals, the Cancer Research UK Company Cancer Research Technology, and the Institute of Cancer Research, discovered the molecule.

"This is exciting research showing that this experimental drug does the job of several drugs all at once, by targeting numerous weak spots in cancer cells," Dr Julie Sharp, Cancer Research UK's senior science information manager, said.

"Using one master switch to turn off the different faulty messages forcing cancer cells to keep growing could be an effective way to destroy tumours. It could also reduce the chance of patients becoming resistant to treatment," she added.

The findings are published in the journal Clinical Cancer Research. (ANI)

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