A new study, conducted by researchers from the University of New South Wales in Australia, revealed the possibility of improving the health of children with a rare, high-risk cancer known as “neuroblastoma,” by adding an existing drug on the market to the treatment program.
According to the study, the idea of treatment is to use the drug TETA (triethylene tetramine), which works to reduce the size of tumors and enhance the ability of the immune system to fight the disease. Experiments on mice have shown that the drug helps weaken tumors by transferring copper to immune cells, such as neutrophils. Neutrophils are a type of white blood cell that helps the body fight infections and diseases.
Assistant Professor Orazio Vittorio, the study’s lead researcher, from the university’s School of Biomedical Sciences, said: “The drug has a dual effect: it weakens the tumor and helps the immune system become stronger, which improves the body’s response to immunotherapy.”
“This effect allows current neuroblastoma immunotherapy to achieve better results, raising survival rates for children with the disease from 10% to 50%,” Vittorio added.
For her part, Dr. Jordin Rowan, the main author of the study from the university’s College of Clinical Medicine, said, “Removing copper from tumors is a major development in the treatment of neuronal cancer. It is non-toxic and has not shown any disturbing side effects, adding that this treatment may improve the quality of life of children.” Patients with this deadly cancer.
Rawan pointed out that reusing existing drugs saves time and costs, compared to developing completely new drugs, which usually takes 8 to 13 years.
It is noteworthy that a neuroblastoma, or what is known as a neuroblastoma, is a cancer that develops from immature nerve cells found in several areas of the body. It most often arises in and around the adrenal glands, where they have origins similar to nerve cells. Neuroblastoma most often affects children 5 years of age or younger, and rarely occurs in older children.