Erectile Dysfunction Drugs could Assist Treat Oesophageal Cancer, Study Finds

Erectile dysfunction drugs could help treat cancer, research study discovers

22 June 2022

A component in impotence medication might help treat oesophageal cancer, a study has actually found.

Southampton scientists found the PDE5 inhibitors in the medication helped penetrate the barrier of cells around tumours, enabling chemotherapy drugs to reach cancer cells.

One in 10 patients presently survives the disease, which is found anywhere in the gullet, for 10 years or more.

The research study was funded by Cancer Research UK. The next stage is a medical trial.

Prof Tim Underwood, lead author of the study, said the discovery might enhance these survival rates.

He said a cell referred to as the cancer-associated fibroblast, responsible for wound recovery, could be targeted with the inhibitors.

“It’s been utilized throughout the world in millions of dosages,” he described. “It’s safe, and we applied it to cancer.”

He added it was to the scientists “awe and surprise and pleasure” that the drug had an impact.

“We need to put this into a medical trial where we attempt the drug type alongside chemotherapy to see if it makes the chemotherapy more reliable,” he stated.

“The preliminary work suggests it must do, and if it does and if it’s safe, and it enhances outcomes of chemotherapy, then it could be really substantial for the patients I take care of.”

The research study was brought out using tumours from 8 cancer patients, with more tests done on mice.

Chemotherapy only assists 20% of oesophageal cancer patients in a substantial way, he stated.

“If this drug mix even enhances it by a little amount, we’re really going to assist a big number of individuals every year to react better and live longer.”

Researchers at Southampton University Hospitals state that the normal outcomes of erectile dysfunction disorder drugs need additional stimulation, so would not impact cancer patients in the very same method.

Prof Underwood said the primary side effects would be “a little bit of 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 often goes undetected in the early stages, with Mr Daly finding it was hard to swallow his food and he wound up regurgitating it.

He is quickly to go through another round of chemotherapy, and stated if he had the option to take the new treatment he would have “taken it with both hands”.

“The research study that is being done is absolutely fantastic,” he stated.

“It is simply extraordinary that there are individuals out there going to spend their lives simply trying to find a cure, so that people can get on with their everyday lives and not need to go through all this things.

“You can’t thank these individuals 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 expected within the next 18 months and if successful, it is hoped new treatments based on this research study could be utilized within 10 years.

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Related internet links

Cancer Research UK

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What is oesophageal cancer? – NHS

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