Four people suffering from an aggressive form of brain cancer have reportedly benefited from a new drug. This was the first application of the drug on human subjects.The new drug works by obstructing the manner in which cancer cells produce energy and we believe it will be useful in mesothelioma treatment too.
The trial was led by Evangelos Michelakis of the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada. A report that was published this week holds promise of a new class of cancer treatments based on the preliminary findings of this new drug which works on the principle of tackling “cancer metabolism”. “We are still a long way from a treatment, but this opens the window on drugs that target cancer metabolism,” says Michelakis.
Other researchers have started experimenting with a number of other molecules based on a similar principle of addressing “cancer metabolism.” In the words of Lewis Cantley of Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts, “It’s about identifying which target is best.” Cantley’s company Agios Pharmaceuticals is also screening for such targets.