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Straits Times - Singapore
Dec 8, 2004
S'pore team pioneers anti-cancer drugs
They stop cells from multiplying and cause them to die, but more research is needed
By Lee Hui Chieh
RESEARCHERS here have pioneered a treatment that may pave the way for a new class of cancer-busting drugs.
The team of four scientists from the Genome Institute of Singapore and National University of Singapore have developed two synthetic proteins that can prevent cancer cells from multiplying in the body.
Laboratory and animal tests have so far shown that cancers such as ovarian, cervical and bone cancers treated with these drugs shrink in size by up to 80 per cent.
A provisional patent to use the drugs in the treatment of skin cancers and other skin conditions like psoriasis has been filed in the United States.
The groundbreaking research was featured on the cover of the October 2004 issue of American scientific journal, Cell Cycle.
Dr Steven Hsu, group leader of population genetics at the institute, identified two natural proteins in every cell that, when activated, send signals to the cell to divide and replicate itself.
He was the first to identify this process seven years ago.
There are three other ways in which cells may be instructed to multiply.
Most normal cells in the body do not usually divide, except those like skin cells that need constant regeneration. Cancer cells, however, proliferate.
The two synthetic drugs bind themselves to the two proteins in any rapidly dividing cell, preventing it from dividing and causing it to die.
The new drugs can kill all types of cancer cell.
However, they are unable to attack blood and other invasive cancers effectively at the moment, because they are not stable and will break down inside the body before they reach the affected region.
The team is working on finding smaller and more stable molecules that can do so.
Another drawback is that healthy cells that are supposed to regenerate themselves, such as skin cells, are also affected.
The team is now trying to modify the drugs so they will target cancer cells and leave healthy cells unaffected.
They are focusing particularly on treating diseases caused by human papilloviruses, which cause cervical cancer and genital warts. Research has shown the drugs may be particularly effective against these diseases.
Dr Hsu, who is also an assistant professor at the NUS faculty of medicine, said at least five years of further testing are necessary before a drug can be approved for clinical use.
In the meantime, his team may also collaborate with international researchers to see if the new proteins can be used against other types of cancer.
He has already received a number of requests, including one from a team from Baylor College of Medicine in Texas, who are interested in testing them on brain cancer.
Dr Hsu said: 'The sky's the limit. We won't know until we try.'