(Newswire.net — September 19, 2017) — Ovarian cancer has puzzled doctors and scientists for decades, but with new technologies and scientific advancements, it is becoming easier to understand.
The biggest hurdle was determining why as many as 85 percent of women experience a recurrence when they have this type of cancer. Doctors tried to solve this issue using a medication called carboplatin.
However, there are certain ovarian cancer types that are resistant to carboplatin when administered alone. This is because of high levels of cIAPs, a type of protein, present in these cancer cells.
This protein prevents cell death after a person is treated with carboplatin chemotherapy. When the cells survive, they are able to regenerate the tumor at a later date, resulting in a recurrence of the cancer. Once it recurs, the treatment options are considerably more limited.
The mystery may have been solved by the preclinical research of Dr. Sanaz Memarzadeh. This doctor has pinpointed a combination therapy that might help some of the tens of thousands of women who have this type of cancer.
The combination that he studied included birinapant, a type of experimental drug, and carboplatin, the drug that is already used for this type of cancer.
A study was conducted using mice. Half of the mice had tumors that were sensitive to carboplatin, and the other half had tumors that were resistant to carboplatin. Both sets of mice received the combination of carboplatin and birinapant, as well as the drugs individually.
Alone, the drugs appeared to have a very minimal effect on the mice. However, when combined, the survival rate of the mice nearly doubled. This showed that when used together, the drugs are better able to kill the cancer.
By combining carboplatin with the experimental drug, it appears that there is no regeneration of the cancer cells, and thus, recurrence of the cancer. Clearly, when it comes to women’s health services, knowing the right treatment combinations can make a major difference.
In addition to ovarian cancer, this combination is being studied for cervical, lung, bladder, and colon cancers.
The research still has a long way to go, but so far, it’s promising. With this information, women facing ovarian cancer have more hope that there is a treatment available that helps them beat the odds.