One of India’s leading centers for cancer research and treatment, the Tata Institute in Mumbai, claims to have found a treatment that can stop cancer from coming back twice.
After ten years of work, the doctors and researchers at the institute have created a tablet that they believe will prevent patients from developing cancer a second time and will also cut the side effects of treatments like radiation and chemotherapy by half.
Dr Rajendra Badve, a senior cancer surgeon at Tata Memorial Hospital, who was part of the research group, said, “Human cancer cells were inserted in rats for the research, which formed a tumour in them. The rats were then treated with radiation therapy, chemotherapy and surgery. It was found that when these cancer cells die, they break into tiny pieces called Chromatin particles. These particles can travel to other parts of the body through the bloodstream and when they enter healthy cells, they can turn them cancerous.”
The Tata Memorial Centre (TMC), in their research, said dying cancer cells release cell-free chromatin particles (cfChPs, or fragments of chromosomes) which can turn healthy cells into cancerous ones. Some of the cfChPs may fuse with healthy chromosomes and cause new tumours.
“To find a solution to this problem, doctors gave pro-oxidant tablets with resveratrol and copper (R+Cu) to the rats,” Dr Badve told. The R+Cu generate Oxygen radicals, which destroy Chromatin Particles.
The ‘R+Cu’ when taken orally, generate Oxygen radicals in the stomach which are quickly absorbed to enter blood circulation. The oxygen radicals destroy cfChPs released in circulation and prevent ‘Metastases’ – The movement of cancer cells from one part of the body to another. The researchers claimed that R+Cu prevents Chemotherapy toxicity.
The “Magic of R+Cu” was the term used by the researchers in their presentation.
This tablet has the potential to mitigate the adverse effects of cancer treatment by approximately 50%. Additionally, it has been shown to be about 30% effective in preventing cancer. It may also work well for lung, pancreatic, and oral cancer.
“Tata doctors were working on this tablet for almost a decade. The tablet is awaiting approval from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). TIFR scientists have applied to FSSAI to approve this tablet. After getting the approval, it will be available in the market from June-July. This tablet will help to a great extent in improving cancer treatment,” the senior cancer surgeon said.
“While the budget for the treatment ranges from lakhs to crores, this tablet will be available everywhere for just ₹ 100,” he said.
The doctor said, “The effect on side-effects were tested on both rats and humans, but the prevention test was done only on rats. It will take about five years to complete the human trials for this. There were challenges during the research, many felt it was a waste of time and money. But today, everyone is happy and excited. It is a big success.”
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