KEY POINTS
- Researchers developed a drug that targets solid tumours without harming healthy cells.
- The drug, AOH1996, was designed after 20 years of research and has shown promising results in lab tests.
- Clinical trials are planned to evaluate the drug’s safety and effectiveness in cancer patients.
Researchers have developed a cancer drug that specifically destroys solid tumors without harming healthy cells.
This is a groundbreaking invention in the health industry and also good news for cancer patients all over the world.
The drug only targets the proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), which is important for the growth of tumours. The PCNA was formerly considered to be “undruggable”
After 20 years of research, scientists at City of Hope Hospital in Los Angeles, California, USA, successfully formed the drug with the code AOH1996. According to a report by Vanguard, the code name was in honour of Anna Olivia Healy, a girl child who died as a result of childhood cancer in 2005. AOH1996 has shown positive results in laboratory tests.
Promising lab results
Clinical trials and future prospects
Meeting Anna’s father motivated and inspired Dr. Linda Malkas, the molecular oncologist leading the research team at City Hope Hospital, to formulate the drug.
She said this about the drug, “Most targeted therapies focus on a single pathway, which enables wily cancer to mutate and eventually become resistant. PCNA is like a major airline terminal hub containing multiple plane gates.
“Data shows that PCNA is uniquely altered in cancer cells, allowing us to design a drug that specifically targets the altered form of PCNA in those cells. Our cancer-killing pill is like a snowstorm that closes a key airline hub, shutting down all flights in and out only in planes carrying cancer cells.’
