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Iranian scientists reduce cancer drug side effects with nanotechnology

Tuesday, 28 April 2015 9:53 PM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 29 April 2015 12:56 AM ]

File photo of a young cancer patient

Iranian scientists have successfully reduced the side effects of a cancer drug by infusing it with nanotechnology.

Researchers at the Tabriz University of Medical Sciences discovered that the side effects of the drug Mitoxantrone could be reduced when the chemotherapeutic agent is infused with liposomic nanocarriers, which are created with cholesterol derivatives, IRNA reported on Tuesday.

Mitoxantrone is a cancer drug that disrupts DNA synthesis and DNA repair in both healthy cells and cancer cells, and is used to treat certain types of cancer such as metastatic breast cancer, acute myeloid leukemia, and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

The produced “nanoliposomes,” apart from being stable to pH changes in blood plasma, have proven to be more poisonous to cancer cells than to normal cells, which would reduce the required dosage and side effects, said head of the research team Dr. Saeed Qanbarzadeh.

The most common side effects of Mitoxantrone, which hinder its wider spread use, are nausea, vomiting, hair loss, heart damage, and immunosuppression.

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