HAMAMATSU – The Hamamatsu University School of Medicine has partnered with the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute to develop anti-cancer medicine with reduced side effects. The research group announced Tuesday that research and development are progressing and that experiments on animals have yielded positive results.
Cancerous mice were given 1/40 the usual dosage of anti-cancer medicine, and their tumors nearly disappeared by the 19th day of the test. Moreover, the researchers observed no side effects whatsoever.
The group hopes to put the medicine through clinical testing and then into practical use.
Associate Professor Kazuhiro Sugihara reports that the group discovered a type of peptide comprised of an amino acid sequence that gathers inside of new blood vessels generated to feed malicious tumors greater than one to two millimeters in size. The group has incorporated these peptides into the medicine so that they will target only these new blood vessels.
Source – Daily Yomiuri News (Japanese)