The FDA is pushing along two new treatments that could potentially help people living with cervical cancer and paralysis. Though the drug approval process usually takes anywhere from five to eight years, these new treatments are expected to be ready for the market in about three to four years. It all depends on the success of the drugs and if they can replicate the results found in mice in people.
Scientists at the University of Wisconsin have cured mice of cervical cancer with two drugs, an estrogen receptor blocker and raloxifene, that were originally FDA-approved to treat breast cancer and osteoporosis. Both drugs reduce the effects of estrogen in cells, which cleared precancerous growths or lesions in both the cervix and vagina. The treatment offers hope for the 500,000 women around the world diagnosed each year with cervical cancer.
There are many genetic and anatomical similarities between cervical cancer that develops in mammals, such as humans and in mice. Cervical cancer starts in the cervix, the lower part of the uterus, and has no early symptoms, making it hard to detect in its early stages. Cervical cancer kills approximately half of all women diagnosed, but these drugs finally have the potential to provide an effective treatment.
Currently, both drugs are entering phase two and three of clinical trials, where researchers will determine if they are effective at treating women for cervical cancer. The drugs were able to skip the lengthy phase zero and phase one, where a small number of people are given the drug to test its safety, because they have already been approved to treat osteoporosis and breast cancer.
Dr. Lampart, one of the researchers involved in developing the drugs, said in an interview with sciencedaily.com, “We can’t be sure how the science will translate from animals to humans.”
The FDA also approved the first human embryonic stem cell treatment for phase two testing. The treatment is meant to restore limb function in individuals with neck spinal injuries.
The treatment, developed by Genron Corp, utilizes human embryonic stem cells destined to become spinal cord cells to rebuild the damaged myelin. Myelin is insulation for nerve cells vital for proper function of motor operations.
When the myelin becomes damaged through injury, paralysis usually occurs. Researchers hope to rebuild those damaged nerve cells with stem cell treatments and give people control back over their limbs.
In an interview with sciencedaily.com, Dr. Keirstead, the primary researcher in the study said, “What out therapy did to injured rodents is phenomenal.”
The stem cell treatment for rats restored 97 percent of their walking ability and “if we see even a fraction of that benefit in humans, it will be nothing short of a home run.”
Promising new treatments on horizon
Published: Monday, November 16, 2009
Updated: Monday, November 16, 2009
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