Possible new combo therapy for head and neck cancer

New York, Jan 23 : Researchers have tested a new combination therapy that showed reduced growth of head and neck cancer in the animal-based study.
According to the researchers, head and neck cancer is the sixth most common cancer worldwide, and while effective treatments exist, sadly, cancer often returns.
“Head and neck cancer, like any cancer, is truly life-altering. Head and neck cancer could impact your throat, tongue or nose and patients often can’t swallow, talk or eat; it truly takes away some of the most social, enjoyable parts of life,” said researcher Christina Wicker from the University of Cincinnati.
“Until now, no one has examined if this drug has the potential to improve radiation treatment in head and neck cancer. Most importantly, this drug compound has been well tolerated by patients and causes minimal side effects,” Wicker added.
For the study, published in the journal Cancer Letters, the researchers tested a new combination therapy in animal models to see if they could find a way to make an already effective treatment even better.
The researchers combined radiation therapy with a drug (telaglenastat) that stops a key enzyme in a cell pathway that becomes altered in cancer cells, causing those cells to grow rapidly and resist treatment.