A COMMON autumn flower looks like taking centre stage in the battle against cancer. A toxic chemical from the plant has been used in a “smart bomb” that wipes out cancer tumours.
When tested on mice the new treatment cleared out the cancer in 70 per cent of cases after a single dose.
The therapy also looks like it is able to mop up any hidden secondary tumours that might arise afterwards.
Details of this remarkable research were released this morning at the annual British Science Association Festival of Science, taking place at Bradford University this year.
Scientists from the university’s Institute for Cancer Therapeutics described how they made use of colchicine, a natural substance derived from the autumn crocus.
It had known anti-inflammation and anti-cancer properties, but it also destroyed normal tissues, said Dr Kevin Adams of the institute. “We have found a way to harness colchicine’s power so that it is harmless to healthy tissue, but still toxic to tumour blood vessels.”
The researchers used it to develop a drug that remains inactive and passes harmlessly through the body until it gets near tumour cells.
Solid tumours give off a unique chemical, an enzyme that helps the tumour to grow blood vessels and nourish itself.
Once the drug encounters the enzyme it goes into action, destroying the tumour’s blood supply and effectively starving it to death.
It has proved highly effective in destroying breast, colon, lung, sarcoma and prostate cancers, and amazingly no adverse effects have been observed in the mice.
“What we have designed is, effectively, a ‘smart bomb’ that can be targeted directly at any solid tumour to kill it without appearing to harm healthy tissue,” explained the institute’s director, Prof Laurence Patterson.
These cancers often spread to other tissues in the body, but the new treatment looks as though it will knock out these tumours as well, he said.
The researchers also believe they may be able to use this delivery method to carry other drugs directly to the site of a tumour.
They are now in negotiations with a funder to get the drug through final preclinical safety checks.
Once over this hurdle they will initiate trials of the drug at St James’s University Hospital in Leeds.
Prof Patterson said the group remained “cautious” until the treatment was proven to work in humans.
All going well he saw the drug being used as part of a combined therapy to tackle these difficult tumours.