A new breakthrough has been made in the bid to improve the effectiveness of the platinum drug used in the treatment of ovarian cancer.

One of the main problems with the drug has been that around 30 per cent of women treated for ovarian cancer are resistant to the platinum "silver bullet" and have recurring ovarian cancer.

However, researchers at Oregon Health & Science University in the US have developed Telcyta, a drug which binds to the platinum drug and releases a fragment of platinum before bombarding the cancerous cell, causing it to die.

Explaining how the drug works using an American football analogy, principal investigator of the study Fabio Cappuccini commented: "The platinum drug is like the quarterback and Telcyta acts like a defensive lineman, removing the opponents in the way so that the quarterback (platinum) can make the touchdown, causing the cancer cell's death."

Tests carried out on animals by the researchers have proved effective and Dr Cappuccini added: "It is targeting a population of patients without a lot of hope. I have a lot of hope in this drug."


Ÿ Adfero Ltd