Radiation therapy is an established method of treating some forms of cancer, but normal cells do get damaged as well. Scientists studying the tumor cells ability to withstand the immune systems “self destruct” instructions, have applied them to strengthen normal cells.
For cancer cells, radiation means death, but to normal cells it means a false instruction to expire. While the damage to the cell is manageable, the cells trigger a process called apoptosis, a fail safe for seriously damaged cells.
The experimental drug CBLB502 developed by the Roswell Park cancer Institute, was led by Andrei Gudkov in identifying the triggering cell-signaling process NFKB. The synthesized drug when injected in mice (and rhesus monkeys), followed by exposure to lethal levels of radiation, dramatically improved the survival rate.
It happens that the Defense Department is funding the research, as the drug has an advantage against bio weapons. According to Dr. Richard Kolesnick of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center:
This new information on the mechanisms of tissue damage to the GI tract has resulted in a potentially important new drug to prevent this lethal GI syndrome after a radiation accident or potential terrorist attack.
The drawback for everything is in the prolonged effects of long term use. While the short term use of the drug for infrequent and unlikely radiation emergencies is clear, the repeated exposure to radiation (a cancer patient for instance) has to deal with the cumulative effects, something which is beyond any current drugs.
Source doc: washington post
