Chemotherapy made more effective to treat cancer

Scientists at the University of North Carolina, USA, have made an existing chemotherapy drug more effective by killing drug-resistant lung cancer cells using 50 times less of the medication than currently required.

For the first time ever, the researchers packaged the drug paclitaxel derived from a patient’s own immune system in containers, thus protecting the drug from being destroyed by the body’s own defenses and bringing the entire payload to the tumour.

‘That means we can use 50 times less of the drug and still get the same results,’ said Elena Batrakova from the University of North Carolina. She further added, ‘That matters because we may eventually be able to treat patients with smaller and more accurate doses of chemotherapy drugs resulting in more effective treatment with fewer side effects.’

This research is bound to lead to improvement in patient wellness level while undergoing chemotherapy.