New Delhi, Aug 24: Indian scientists have developed an experimental cancer drug designed to target tumour cells more precisely, offering a potentially new approach to cancer treatment.
The drug, RK-251, has been developed by a research team led by Dr Asis Bala of the Institute of Advanced Study in Science and Technology and Dr K.P. Bhabak of IIT Guwahati.
The drug is designed to take advantage of a characteristic commonly found in cancer cells. Many tumour cells contain higher levels of reactive oxygen species, or ROS. RK-251 is designed to remain relatively inactive in normal conditions and become activated when it encounters higher ROS levels inside cancer cells.
Once activated, the drug releases an anticancer compound called NBDHEX. The compound targets proteins that help cancer cells survive and resist treatment. The approach is aimed at concentrating the drug's action within tumour cells while reducing its impact on healthy tissues.
In preclinical laboratory studies, RK-251 showed promising activity against triple-negative breast cancer cells, an aggressive form of breast cancer. Researchers also observed lower effects on healthy cells in the experiments.
The research team also evaluated the drug using zebrafish embryos. The studies did not show obvious signs of toxicity in the observations, while the drug's fluorescence response helped researchers track its activation in an ROS-rich environment.
The findings offer an encouraging direction for the development of more targeted cancer therapies. However, RK-251 remains at the preclinical stage, and the results do not yet establish its safety or effectiveness in humans.
Further studies will be required before the drug can be considered for clinical trials. Researchers will need to establish its safety, appropriate dosage and effectiveness through additional testing.
The development highlights ongoing efforts by Indian researchers to explore more precise cancer treatments that could potentially target tumour cells while limiting damage to healthy tissues.