Next big wave : Radiation drugs track and kill cancer cells
CARLA K. JOHNSON, AP Medical Writer
June 3, 2021
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Doctors are reporting improved survival in men with advanced prostate cancer from an experimental drug that delivers radiation directly to tumor cells.
Few such drugs are approved now, but the approach may become a new way to treat patients with other hard-to-reach or inoperable cancers.
The study tested an emerging class of medicine called radiopharmaceuticals, drugs that deliver radiation directly to cancer cells. The drug in this case is a molecule that contains two parts: a tracker and a cancer-killing payload.
Trillions of these molecules hunt down cancer cells, latching onto protein receptors on the cell membrane. The payload emits radiation, which hits the tumor cells within its range.
Doctors are reporting improved survival in men with advanced prostate cancer from an experimental drug that delivers radiation directly to tumor cells.
Research led by Dr. Philip Kern was highlighted by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.
LEXINGTON, Ky. (June 2, 2021) – Research led by University of Kentucky endocrinologist and Center for Clinical & Translational Science director Dr. Philip Kern was recently highlighted by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) in its 2021 Recent Advances & Emerging Opportunities report. The publication conveys important accomplishments resulting from NIDDK-funded research, as well as the enormous promise this research holds for the future.
Kern’s research demonstrated for the first time that a medication called mirabegron, already FDA-approved to treat overactive bladder, improves multiple measures of glucose metabolism in people who are overweight/obese with insulin resistance by inducing beige fat formation in their white adipose fat tissue. The findings uncover a potential new mechanism for treatment of diabetes.
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IMAGE: HPV infection causes cells to undergo changes. If not treated these cells can, over time, become cancer cells. view more
Credit: National Cancer Institute
Today, doctors and scientists across America at National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated cancer centers and other organizations issued a joint statement urging the nation s health care systems, physicians, parents and children, and young adults to get the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination back on track.
Dramatic drops in annual well visits and immunizations during the COVID-19 pandemic have caused a significant vaccination gap and lag in vital preventive services among U.S. children and adolescents especially for the HPV vaccine. The pandemic also has exacerbated health disparities, leaving Black, Indigenous and other people of color; rural; and sexual minority adolescents at even greater risk for missed doses of this cancer prevention vaccine.