The latest episode in the American Chemical Society's (ACS') award-winning Global Challenges/Chemistry Solutions podcast series* describes the development and successful lab tests on the first potential drug to pack a lethal one-two punch against melanoma skin cancer cells.
Based on a report by Nathan Luedtke, Ph.D., in the journal ACS Chemical Biology, the new podcast is available without charge at iTunes** and from http://www.acs.org/globalchallenges.***
The drug has a dual activity. Hit number one destroys cells in the main tumor, and the second hit blocks the spread of the cancer to other sites in the body, according to the report.
Luedtke explains that the spread of melanoma and other forms of cancer beyond the original location -- a process called metastasis -- makes cancer such a serious disease. Photodynamic therapy (PDT), which involves administering a drug that kills cancer cells when exposed to light, already is available. But PDT works only on the main tumor and has other drawbacks. Luedtke's team set out to find an improved approach to PDT.
He describes successful tests in laboratory mice of one compound they synthesized. It not only killed melanoma cells, but also stopped them from metastasizing. The compound "provides the first example of a preclinical candidate possessing both of these properties," he states.