Doctors have found a new form of treatment that may eventually replace chemotherapy. Recently, chemotherapy has fallen in popularity as a form of treatment for cancer. Chemotherapy, unlike radiation or surgery, can affect all areas of the body instead of a specified one. Consequently, chemo tends to target healthy cells as well as the cancerous ones.
A British-based research team led by Professor Michael Lisanti have been working on researching other forms of treatment without the negative side effects that chemotherapy provides, and they may have just found a solution. Their idea was to find a way of targeting the mitochondria of cancer cells. The mitochondria is an organelle within the cell that acts as the cell’s “powerhouse” by providing the cell with energy. Lisanti along with his team worked to create the compound diphenyleneiodonium chloride which blocks vitamin B-2, which depleted the cell of its energy. Research has revealed that DPI reduced over 90% of the energy produced in the cells’ mitochondria.
Lisanti noted that, “Our observation is that DPI is selectively attacking the cancer stem cells, by effectively creating a vitamin deficiency. In other words, by turning off energy production in cancer stem cells, we are creating a process of hibernation. The beauty of this is that DPI makes the cancer stem cells metabolically-inflexible, so they will be highly susceptible to many other drugs.”
This has tremendous implications for the future of chemotherapy. As the research team states, “These findings have significant therapeutic implications for potently targeting [cancer stem-like cells] while minimizing toxic side effects.” Because DPI is able to specifically target the mitochondria of cancer stem cells, using the compound will not result in the negative consequences that traditional chemotherapy has.The scientists believe that, “DPI is one of the most potent and highly selective [cancer stem-like cells] inhibitors discovered to date.” Once these cancerous cells are targeted, they will be much easier to remove from the body.
Others from the field are also optimistic about the future of finding other non-toxic alternatives to chemotherapy. Many patients have been affected by the negative consequences of chemotherapy, including Will Kohn, a beloved member of the PV family. Brandt Claussen, a biology teacher and friend of the Kohn family believes that, “there is a bright future in cancer research and that this discovery will lead to the creation of treatments that are safe for the patients.”
Researchers have named these new molecules that target stem cells “mitoflavoscins.”
