WEDNESDAY, Dec. 22, 2004 (HealthDayNews) -- A new compound that could enhance chemotherapy treatments and reduce side effects has been created by Michigan State University researchers.
The compound, SP-4-84, could help make some chemotherapy drugs more effective, the researchers believe.
The found that when SP-4-84 is added to certain anti-cancer drugs, it inhibits the ability of cancer cells to survive the treatment.
Most anti-cancer drugs damage cancer cells to the point that they die. But cancer cells can survive this damage and repair themselves, which renders the anti-cancer drugs less effective. But SP-4-84 prevents cancer cells from repairing the damage caused by anti-cancer drugs.
"This may potentially mean that one could use less than one-tenth of the current drug dosage and still get the same therapeutic results -- but fewer side effects -- or use the same drug dosage which is now much more effective in its treatment," research leader Jetze Tepe, an assistant professor of chemistry, said in a prepared statement.
The research appears in the December issue of Chemistry & Biology.
This compound is in the earliest stages of development.
More information
The American Cancer Society has more about chemotherapy.
