Health News | Scientists Reveal Why One Type of Chemotherapy Works Best in Bladder Cancer

Washington DC [US], January 26 (ANI): According to a study published in Cell Reports Medicine in January, researchers at Tisch Cancer Institute showed that a certain form of chemotherapy boosts the immune system's ability to fight bladder cancer, especially when paired with immunotherapy.

These findings may explain why the approach, cisplatin chemotherapy, can lead to cure in a small subset of patients with metastatic, or advanced, bladder cancer. Researchers also believe that their findings could explain why clinical trials combining another type of chemotherapy, carboplatin-based chemo, with immunotherapy have not been successful but others that use cisplatin with immunotherapy are successful.

Also Read | Apple Watch Saves Life: London-Based Doctor Saves Life of Elderly Woman Mid-Air Using Apple Watch's Banned 'Pulse Oximeter' That Monitors Blood Oxygen Levels.

"We have known for decades that cisplatin works better than carboplatin in bladder cancer, however, the mechanisms underlying those clinical observations have remained elusive until now," said the study's lead author Matthew Galsky, M.D., Co-Director of the Center of Excellence for Bladder Cancer at The Tisch Cancer Institute at Mount Sinai. "This study provides clues as to why cisplatin-based chemotherapy may achieve durable disease control in a subset of patients with metastatic bladder cancer, provides clues as to which patients may derive such benefit, and provides a foundation for building even better treatment regimens that exploit the immunomodulatory effects of cisplatin-based chemotherapy."

Bladder cancer affects about 83,000 people in the United States annually. Metastatic bladder cancer is particularly hard to cure with current treatments, so these findings are an important step to most effectively use the drugs available and determine effective combination therapies.

Also Read | ‘Zombie Viruses’: Climate Change Unleashes Ancient Threat As 48,500-Year-Old Virus Resurfaces From the Depths of Arctic Ice- Experts Warn of a Potential Global Pandemic Risk.

The study found that cisplatin chemotherapy may work better when the body has generated a pre-existing, but restrained, immune response against the tumor. The study further found that cisplatin damages DNA in cancer cells, which may lead to changes in expression of genes that might improve the ability of the body's immune system to detect cancer cells. (ANI)

(The above story is verified and authored by ANI staff, ANI is South Asia's leading multimedia news agency with over 100 bureaus in India, South Asia and across the globe. ANI brings the latest news on Politics and Current Affairs in India & around the World, Sports, Health, Fitness, Entertainment, & News. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)