Posted on 07/11/2023 7:39:35 PM PDT by ConservativeMind
A team of scientists has found that an existing cancer drug could be repurposed to target a subset of cancers that currently lack targeted treatment options and are often associated with poor outcomes.
This subset of cancers makes up 15% of all cancers and is especially prevalent in aggressive tumors such as osteosarcoma (bone tumor) and glioblastoma (brain tumor).
These cancerous cells stay "immortal" using a mechanism called the alternative lengthening of telomeres (ALT), but the team has demonstrated that ponatinib, a cancer drug approved by the US FDA, blocks key steps in the ALT mechanism that leads it to fail.
Reporting their findings based on laboratory experiments and preclinical animal studies, the scientists found that ponatinib helped to shrink bone tumors (a type of ALT cancer).
The researchers say that the findings move them a step closer to developing a targeted therapeutic option for ALT cancers, which lack clinically approved targeted treatments to date.
Assistant Professor Valerie Yang said, "Sarcomas and glioblastomas are both highly complex cancers that are more prevalent in young people and currently have limited treatment options. The identification of a drug that is FDA-approved which can be repurposed to target ALT, an Achilles heel in these cancers, is very exciting."
Telomeres are protective "caps" at the tips of every chromosome, which carries our DNA. With each cell division, a bit of the telomeres is naturally snipped off, until they become too short, leading to cell death.
Most cancer cells bypass this process by activating an enzyme called telomerase, which lengthens the telomeres so that the cells can replicate indefinitely. However, about 15% of cancers lengthen their telomeres through alternative pathways, rather than activating telomerase. This mechanism is known as the alternative lengthening of telomeres (ALT).
(Excerpt) Read more at medicalxpress.com ...
Iclusig is the generic form of Ponatinib.
I was diagnosed with leukemia in 2009, and my prognosis was that I would live 10 years - if I was lucky.
After subsequently being prescribed other medications, I began taking iclusig in latter 2013 when it was first introduced, and even after it was removed due to side effects for 3 months, during which the manufactor provided it to me free of charge. In January 2014 it was put back on the market. My dosage was reduced to the minimum and required me to take a baby aspirin daily, and make regular visits to a cardiologist.
I’m still taking it, and my CML is nearly in molecular remission.
Prayers for your healing.
Thank you.
High five!
From the article, “With each cell division, a bit of the telomeres is naturally snipped off, until they become too short, leading to cell death.” This natural cell death is called apoptosis.
Because my son, my brother, and my partner have all been dealing with cancer during the past 2 or 3 years, I have been doing a lot of internet search of cancer studies. Since I was also seeking supplements to stop or reverse my cataracts, I happened to find that Astaxanthine was useful for the cataracts, and my cataracts have improved about 75 to 80% in 3 years. In one cancer paper I found that Astaxanthin appears to increase the rate of apoptosis in cancer cells, and slow apoptosis in normal cells. I have been giving my partner Astaxanthin since he started his multi weeks of daily radiation for prostate cancer last fall. He was also given periodic anti-testosterone shots. At any rate his most recent test for PSA was 0.02. When his cancer was discovered it was over 20.
I can’t prove the Astaxanthin effect was significant, but I wonder if any research has been done on it’s effect on rate of telemore decline, and frequency of cell division in cancerous and normal cells.
Other significant information I found in studies included one on 9 common cancers and Zinc. The research found the cancer cells of all 9 cancers were deficient in Zinc, even while surrounding normal cells were normal or even well supplied with zinc. THe researchers daringly suggested it might be good to see if giving patients an ionophore for zinc along with zinc might be a helpful treatment. I did not recognize the ionophore they named, but ones I have heard of include HCQ, Quercetin, and EGCG (from green tea).
Some of us are well aware that Fauci did everything he could to hide the usefulness of zinc if used with HCQ for covid treatment so he could promote $3000 a treatment Remdesivir instead of the $20 treatment for early covid illness using zinc the virus stopper, HCQ the ionophore helping zinc enter infected cells, and Azithromycin to protect vulnerable lungs from bacterial infections. At any rate I have urged my son, my brother and my partner to take Quercetin and zinc daily.
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