16
Jan 2019
New sponge offers hope in toxic side effects of chemotherapy
Scientists believe that they have identified a way to remove excess chemotherapy drugs from the body through the use of a tiny sponge positioned inside a vein, which removes chemotherapy drugs from the blood once the targeted tumour has been attacked.
Experts have said this new development could mean that side-effects from the treatment, such as nausea and hair loss, are avoided.
The tests have so far been trialled successfully on pigs and human trials are the anticipated next stage The researchers are hopeful that these trials could happen within the next two years.
Lead scientist involved in the research Dr Nitash Balsara from the University of California, has said the early results of the trials are promising, adding “We feel that removing 50% of the drug will impact patient outcome substantially.”
Cancer Research UK’s Professor Steve Rannard, said “This work is an exciting new approach to reduce the side-effects of chemotherapy.
“Chemotherapy is a cornerstone treatment for cancer that saves lives, but can have the unwanted impact of damaging healthy as well as cancerous tissue, which can lead to severe side-effects.
“This study demonstrates this approach can extract drug molecules from the blood and remove high levels of drugs that haven’t been delivered to the cancer in animals, which could be an effective approach to address this challenge.
“We now need to build a greater body of evidence to ensure this technique is safe before we can see if this could be an effective approach in cancer patients.”
Chadwick Lawrence’s specialist team of clinical negligence lawyers have years of experience in medical negligence claims, providing support and guidance after life-changing events. Not only do we represent clients in Yorkshire, but because of our reputation we also represent clients nationally.
If you believe that you or a relative may have been injured as a result of clinical/medical negligence, please call for free legal advice from our medical negligence solicitors on the freephone number below.
Posted by Tony May, Partner/head of Clinical Negligence Department, Chadwick Lawrence LLP (tonymay@chadlaw.co.uk ), medical negligence lawyers and clinical negligence solicitors in Huddersfield, Leeds, Wakefield and Halifax, West Yorkshire.
Freephone : 0800 304 738
- Like this ? Share with friends