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Erectile Dysfunction Drugs might Assist Treat Oesophageal Cancer, Study Finds
Erectile dysfunction drugs could help treat oesophageal cancer, research study discovers
22 June 2022
An active ingredient in impotence medication might help deal with oesophageal cancer, a research study has found.
Southampton scientists discovered the PDE5 inhibitors in the medication helped penetrate the barrier of cells around tumours, allowing chemotherapy drugs to reach cancer cells.
One in 10 patients currently survives the illness, which is discovered throughout the gullet, for 10 years or more.
The research study was funded by Cancer Research UK. The next phase is a medical trial.
Prof Tim Underwood, lead author of the study, said the discovery could enhance these survival rates.
He stated a cell called the cancer-associated fibroblast, responsible for injury recovery, could be targeted with the inhibitors.
“It’s been used throughout the world in countless doses,” he discussed. “It’s safe, and we used it to cancer.”
He included it was to the scientists “awe and surprise and pleasure” that the drug had a result.
“We require to put this into a medical trial where we try the drug type along with chemotherapy to see if it makes the chemotherapy more efficient,” he said.
“The initial work suggests it needs to do, and if it does and if it’s safe, and it enhances results of chemotherapy, then it might be really significant for the patients I look after.”
The study was carried out utilizing tumours from eight cancer patients, with further tests done on mice.
Chemotherapy only helps 20% of oesophageal cancer patients in a significant method, he stated.
“If this drug combination even enhances it by a percentage, we’re actually going to help a a great deal of people every year to react much better and live longer.”
Researchers at Southampton University Hospitals say that the normal results of erectile dysfunction condition drugs require extra stimulation, so would not affect cancer clients in the same way.
Prof Underwood stated the primary adverse effects would be “a bit of headache, a little bit of flushing”.
Terry Daly, from Aldershot, Hampshire, is one of the 9,500 individuals detected with oesophageal cancer in the UK every year.
It frequently goes unnoticed in the early stages, with Mr Daly finding it was hard to his food and he ended up regurgitating it.
He is shortly to undergo another round of chemotherapy, and stated if he had the alternative to take the brand-new treatment he would have “taken it with both hands”.
“The research that is being done is absolutely great,” he said.
“It is just incredible that there are individuals out there ready to invest their lives simply searching for a treatment, so that people can get on with their daily lives and not need to go through all this stuff.
“You can’t thank these individuals enough for what they’re doing.”
The five-year research study has been moneyed by Cancer Research UK and the Medical Research Council.
A scientific trial is expected within the next 18 months and if successful, it is hoped brand-new treatments based upon this research study could be used within ten years.
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Related web links
Cancer Research UK
University Hospital Southampton
Institute of Developmental Sciences – University of Southampton
What is oesophageal cancer? – NHS
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