Drugs developed to treat heart and blood vessel problems could be used in combination with chemotherapy to treat an aggressive form of adult leukem
Drugs developed to treat heart and blood vessel problems could be used in combination with chemotherapy to treat an aggressive form of adult leukemia.
The claim comes from new research led by the Francis Crick Institute.
The team discovered that acute myeloid leukemia (AML) causes bone marrow to “leak” blood, preventing chemotherapy being delivered properly.
Drugs that reversed bone marrow leaking boosted the effect of chemotherapy in mice and human tissue, providing a possible new combination therapy for AML patients.
Diana Passaro, lead author, said: “The cancer was damaging the walls of blood vessels responsible for delivering oxygen, nutrients, and chemotherapy. When we used drugs to stop the leaks in mice, we were able to kill the cancer using conventional chemotherapy.”
As the drugs are already in clinical trials for other conditions, it is hoped that they could be given the green light for AML patients in the future.
The study has been published in Cancer Cell.
