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Effectiveness of Cancer Treatment Improved With Trio of Drugs

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Life expectancy of cancer patients could potentially increase with new combination therapy

By combining a cancer drug with a medication for erectile dysfunction and including a third therapy for heart transplants, researchers were able to kill cancer cells and protect the heart from damage.

Doxorubicin, although a powerful anticancer treatment for breast, ovarian, colon and prostate cancer, has been limited in use due to harmful, possibly irreversible effects on the heart. Thus, the recent study results could have a great impact on future combination therapies for cancer patients.

The study, presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2012, used cell and animal models. Researchers discovered that sildenafil alone or in combination with rapamycin significantly improved the anticancer effects of doxorubicin and protected the heart. The most powerful effect was observed when all 3 medications were combined, researchers said.

Rakesh Kukreja, PhD, study coauthor and professor of internal medicine and cardiology, Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) School of Medicine in Richmond said, “Because sildenafil and rapamycin are clinically approved drugs that both protect heart muscle, we thought that combining these drugs with doxorubicin would be a unique strategy to eliminate the cardiac side effects of doxorubicin while further improving its cancer-killing ability.”

“The drug combination led to a dramatic protection of heart muscle from apoptosis and, to a lesser extent, necrosis,” said David E. Durrant, study lead author and PhD candidate at the VCU School of Medicine. “We think this combination therapy may have excellent potential to move forward into clinical trials and eventually improve life expectancy of cancer patients.”

Source: American Heart Association.