Scientists from the Siberian State Medical University (SSMU) have created a drug for the prevention of metastasis in oncological diseases.
According to the authors of the development, this remedy is capable of preventing the occurrence of metastases.
In particular, a compound developed on the basis of nucleic acids has such potential.
It is this that will prevent them from appearing after the primary tumor is removed, MIA Rossiya Segodnya reports with reference to the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, where the results of the work of Russian scientists were published.
Metastases
According to representatives of the Siberian State Medical University, cancer appears due to genetic changes in cells, which causes them to divide uncontrollably and spread throughout the body.
Many of them are eliminated by the immune system, but those that do not die enter a state of “rest”, and for a long time (depending on the immunity of the individual).
When cancer cells emerge from their dormant state, they transform into tumor stem cells, leading to the formation of metastases, which are the leading cause of cancer death.
Scientists say that almost all modern anti-tumor drugs are aimed at treating only the primary tumor and cannot fight cancer cells that have already spread throughout the body and are characterized by increased resistance to drugs.
New drug
Specialists from the Siberian State Medical University, Tomsk National Research Medical Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and Tomsk State University have developed a drug that blocks genes that ensure the transition of cancer cells that have come out of “rest” into tumor stem cells.
MicroRNA, the combination of which forms the basis of the drug, affects genes that “activate” cancer cells, the authors of the development noted.
By blocking these genes, it becomes possible, as experimental data show, to prevent the occurrence of metastases, the scientists noted.
