A new breed of platinum-based compounds are showing an unprecedented ability to tackle cancerous tumours, it was suggested today (30th November).

Treatments involving the precious metal are crucial for countering various versions of the disease, including testicular, ovarian, colorectal and lung cancer.

However, tests on the new drugs, known as bisplatinates, have suggested that they possess stronger anti-tumour potency and activity in relation to their contemporaries.

Cell Therapeutics, the company which has been developing the compounds, also revealed that they are able to overcome cisplatin resistance in cancer cell lines.

"The current results are encouraging as they demonstrate that the bisplatinates are not only more effective in human tumour models than the current agents, but also capable of overcoming some forms of palatinate resistance," said Managing Director and Chief Medical Officer Jack Singer.

According to the firm, the bisplatinates contain two platinum atoms and are capable of attaching to and damaging both DNA strands, thus restricting cancerous cells' ability to repair themselves.

The results of the tests on the compounds were published by Laura Gatti and colleagues in a paper entitled 'Novel Bisplatinum Complexes Endowed with an Improved Pharmacological Profile'.

Cell Therapeutics is now hoping to start human clinical trials with its new discovery by the end of next year at the earliest.

Source:

New Class of Platinum-Based Anti-Tumor Drugs, Bisplatinates, Demonstrates Potent Anti-Tumor Activity and Ability to Overcome Resistance to Currently Available Platinum-Based Agents (30/11/09)

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