GAINESVILLE, Fla., Dec. 14 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists say they've found adding a small molecule to the chemotherapy drug Temozolomide hikes its effectiveness at a much smaller dosage.
The University of Florida scientists caution more research is needed before the therapy can be tested in humans. However, using a mouse model, the study showed the addition of the molecule to Temozolomide can disrupt the repair mechanisms in a type of human colon tumor cell that is highly resistant to treatment.
"This is very important because aside from aggressive surgery with possibly chemotherapy, there are no specific treatments for colon cancer," said Professor Satya Narayan. "The recurrence rate for this type of cancer after surgery is very high, about 30 to 50 percent, and there is an urgent need to develop new approaches to manage this deadly disease."
Narayan's research team said it evaluated more than 140,000 small molecules, finally arriving at one that precisely blocks the ability of cancer cells to repair the DNA damage inflicted by Temozolomide.
"Our idea was if you induce DNA damage (with TMZ), and at the same time block cell repair, you can synergize toxic effects to the cancer cells," Narayan said. "We hope that with this combination treatment we can reduce the tumors drastically and expand the lifetime of patients much longer than is currently possible."
The discovery is featured in the journal Molecular Cancer Research.
