Russian scientists developed drug that prevents cancer metastases

A drug for the prevention of metastasis in oncological diseases has been developed by specialists of the Siberian State Medical University, who claim that the compound developed on the basis of nucleic acids can prevent metastases after the removal of the primary tumour, RIA Novosti reports

The results of the research are published in the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry.

The Russian scientists recalled that cancer appears as a result of genetic changes in cells, leading to their uncontrolled division and spread throughout the body. Most of them are destroyed by the immune system, and some may not die and enter a state of ‘rest’ for a long time – depending on the immunity of each individual.

Coming out of a state of ‘rest’, cancer cells turn into tumour stem cells, which cause the formation of secondary foci of pathology: metastases, which are the main cause of death from cancer.

As noted, almost all modern antitumor drugs are aimed at treating only the primary tumour and cannot fight cancer cells in the body, which are clones of the primary neoplasm with increased drug resistance.

The viability of these clones is due to an increase in the malignant properties of the tumour during its development. It is constantly changing, and as a result, the fittest and most malignant clone survives. Therefore, as stated by the experts, effective chemotherapy at the first stages of treatment may not eliminate all subsequent transformed tumour cells.