A group of scientists have recently claimed that taking aspirin might help in boosting the efficacy of advanced cancer drugs formulated for strengthening the immune system.
Immunotherapy allows our body’s own defense system to fight cancer and has caused serious excitement in the world of oncology. The above claims made by researchers at the Francis Crick Institute will surely add some more punch to that excitement. According to them, aspirin might possess the ability to stop tumors from hiding from one’s immune system.
According to the Cancer Research UK, this ability of aspirin might make it a simple tool to improve cancer treatment.
The research team at the Francis Crick Institute demonstrated that bowel, breast, and skin cancer cells produce high levels of a chemical known as prostaglandin E2. This chemical might result in a decline in immune response and allow the tumor to hide.
Scientists are saying that drugs like aspirin can alter the chemical pathways of cancer cells that produce prostaglandin E2. The researchers carried out an animal study and found that aspirin and other similar drugs are capable of boosting immunotherapy treatment.
However, one of the members of the research team Professor Caetano Reis e Sousa said that they are still far away from establishing the efficacy of aspirin-like drugs for actual cancer patients. He added that the study conducted by him and his colleagues is just a preclinical research in rodent models and said that they will now work to set up a clinical trial for formally demonstrating that the same effects can also be experienced by humans.
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Experts believe that immunotherapy holds a lot of potential for cancer treatment. Some trials have already shown that it can even succeed in shrinking terminal cancers and result in the disappearance of the condition in rare cases.
According to Professor Reis e Sousa, the findings of this new study are making immunotherapy appear even more exciting. He added that the findings have left everyone related to the field of immunology and oncology extremely excited.
The professor, however, didn’t forget to mention that what he and his colleagues have found cannot be tagged as a revolution. He feels that it’s actually an evolution that can help in achieving a much higher rate of cancer remission.
