Scientists from Siberia and Canada have improved the cure for cancer with the help of larch

Krasnoyarsk Scientific Center of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences

The drug cisplatin is actively used for the treatment of cancer, but has a significant drawback - high toxicity. It affects not only the tumor, but also all the cells of the body, provoking, for example, impaired renal function, thrombocytopenia, neuropathy.

To reduce this toxic effect, the scientists decided to modify the drug by delivering it directly to the tumor. The researchers managed to achieve this with the help of a hybrid molecule.

It is the aforementioned chemotherapy drug, coated with an easily and harmlessly soluble polysaccharide from Siberian larch, which protects the cells of the body from the action of poison. And it is delivered directly to the tumor and fights against oncology.

The improved drug made it possible to reduce the therapeutic dose of the active substance and its toxicity by 15 times. At the same time, studies have shown a good suppressive effect - the formation of metastases has been reduced by a factor of three.

"This approach will help improve the quality and life expectancy of patients. The developed complex allows to reduce the doses of toxic drugs while maintaining the therapeutic effect," explained Doctor of Biology, Head of the Laboratory for Digital Controlled Drugs of the Krasnoyarsk Scientific Center of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Head of the Laboratory of Biomolecular and Medical Technologies of the Krasnoyarsk State Medical University Anna Kichkaylo.

The study also involved specialists from the Siberian Federal University and colleagues from Canada.