An existing drug could provide the key to treating a potential side effect of platinum-based drug therapies used to treat cancer, a new study suggests.

Researchers at Moores UCSD Cancer Centre are leading a national clinical trial in the US to see whether Amifostine could reverse the effects of peripheral neuropathy, a side effect of platinum-based drugs for which no treatment currently exists.

Platinum-based drugs have proven effectiveness in the treatment of cancer, but symptoms of platinum-induced peripheral neuropathy can include numbness, tingling and pain in the extremities, and range from moderately troublesome to debilitating, leaving some patients confined to a wheelchair.

The scientists will examine whether Amifostine can reverse symptoms of peripheral neuropathy and provide relief for cancer patients, according to Medical News Today.

The study's leader, Dr Steven Plaxe, a member of the Moores UCSD Cancer Center and professor of reproductive medicine with the UCSD School of Medicine, explained: "The good news is that we have better, more effective cancer-fighting drugs and more people are surviving.

"The bad news is that some of these drugs have unfortunate side effects. Peripheral neuropathy as a side effect of chemotherapy is not unusual, and is a growing problem in some patient populations. Unfortunately, we don't have a satisfactory treatment, which is why this study is so important."

Amifostine is normally used as a protection of the gums, cheeks and mucosa in the throat during radiotherapy for head and neck cancers and was originally developed as an antidote to mustard gas.