Erectile Dysfunction Drugs could Assist Treat Oesophageal Cancer, Study Finds
Erectile dysfunction drugs could help deal with oesophageal cancer, research study discovers
22 June 2022
An active ingredient in impotence medication may help deal with oesophageal cancer, a study has discovered.
Southampton researchers discovered the PDE5 inhibitors in the medication helped permeate the barrier of cells around tumours, allowing chemotherapy drugs to reach cancer cells.
One in 10 clients presently endures the illness, which is discovered throughout the gullet, for 10 years or more.
The research study was funded by Cancer Research UK. The next stage is a scientific trial.
Prof Tim Underwood, lead author of the research study, stated the discovery might enhance these survival rates.
He said a cell referred to as the cancer-associated fibroblast, accountable for wound healing, could be targeted with the inhibitors.
“It’s been used throughout the world in millions of dosages,” he explained. “It’s safe, and we used it to cancer.”
He added it was to the researchers “amazement and surprise and pleasure” that the drug had an effect.
“We need to put this into a medical trial where we try the drug type along with chemotherapy to see if it makes the chemotherapy more effective,” he said.
“The preliminary work suggests it must do, and if it does and if it’s safe, and it enhances results of chemotherapy, then it might be truly significant for the patients I care for.”
The study was brought out using tumours from eight cancer clients, with additional tests done on mice.
Chemotherapy only 20% of oesophageal cancer patients in a significant way, he stated.
“If this drug combination even improves it by a little quantity, we’re actually going to help a large number of people every year to react better and live longer.”
Researchers at Southampton University Hospitals state that the normal results of erectile dysfunction disorder drugs require additional stimulation, so would not impact cancer patients in the exact same way.
Prof Underwood stated the main negative effects would be “a little headache, a little bit of flushing”.
Terry Daly, from Aldershot, Hampshire, is among the 9,500 individuals detected with oesophageal cancer in the UK every year.
It frequently goes undetected in the early stages, with Mr Daly discovering it was tough to swallow his food and he ended up regurgitating it.
He is shortly to go through another round of chemotherapy, and stated if he had the alternative to take the new treatment he would have “taken it with both hands”.
“The research study that is being done is definitely wonderful,” he stated.
“It is just extraordinary that there are people out there going to spend their lives simply attempting to discover a remedy, so that individuals can get on with their daily lives and not have to go through all this stuff.
“You can’t thank these people enough for what they’re doing.”
The five-year research study has been funded by Cancer Research UK and the Medical Research Council.
A scientific trial is anticipated within the next 18 months and if effective, it is hoped new treatments based upon this research study might be used within 10 years.
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Related subjects
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Related web links
Cancer Research UK
University Hospital Southampton
Institute of Developmental Sciences – University of Southampton
What is oesophageal cancer? – NHS
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