December 21, 2015

“METAL” DRUGS TO FIGHT CANCER


Credits: Giulia Palermo

(December 21, 2015)  A new study improves our understanding of chemotherapy agents

What is the mechanism of action of metal-based chemotherapy drugs (the most widely used for treating common cancers like testicular or ovarian cancer)? How can we improve their effect and reduce their toxicity? A new study combining experiments and theory has broadened our knowledge of the molecular mechanisms of these active drugs to help experimentalists devising increasingly effective drugs with fewer side effects. The study, just published in the journal ChemMedChem, was conducted with the participation of International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA) of Trieste.

Pharmaceutical research can be difficult and frustrating. Often, one happens to synthesize a molecule without knowing exactly what kind of therapeutic effect  it will have (if it ever will have any). “It is rare for someone to develop a new active drug already knowing what mechanism it will trigger in the body”, explains Alessandra Magistrato, CNR-IOM/SISSA research scientist.