Scientists at RMIT University in Australia and India may have discovered a new breakthrough treatment for certain types of cancer. A novel gold-based drug they’ve developed shows dramatic promise in slowing the growth of tumors in animal testing. It also seems to selectively target cancer cells much better than other types of chemotherapy drugs. The patented compound, known as Gold(I), has so far proven to be far more effective than current chemo drugs for cervical, prostate, and fibrosarcoma cancers in animal tests.
One of the leading cervical cancer drugs is cisplatin (known under the brand name Platinol). Cisplatin works to slow the growth of cervical cancer tumors by 29%. In contrast, Gold(I) has been shown to slow cervical tumor growth by a whopping 82%, at least in laboratory trials on mice. The research indicates that Gold(I) could be 3.5 times more effective at treating prostate cancer, 7.5 times better against fibrosarcoma, and 27 times better against cervical cancer than the current leading chemo drugs.
Cisplatin is a platinum-based drug. While it is effective, platinum is a reactive element. It targets both cancer cells and healthy cells around them. These types of chemotherapy drugs tend to make patients very sick because the treatments kill healthy cells while getting rid of the cancer cells.
Gold, on the other hand, is renowned for its non-reactive properties when it comes into contact with other substances. It’s why people have been using gold as jewelry and currency for thousands of years. Gold(I) has been chemically modified to be both reactive and biologically active.
In drug form, Gold(I) has been modified to react with thioredoxin reductase, an enzyme that’s very abundant in cancerous cells. The gold-based drug blocks the activity of the enzyme and shuts cancer cells off before they can multiply. Gold(I) also inhibited the formation of new blood vessels around tumors in zebrafish trials. The development of new blood vessels often happens as a form of drug resistance, as the body’s immune system tries to keep feeding nutrients and oxygen to cancerous cells.
Because of the targeted reaction of Gold(I) with cancer enzymes, the scientists say it is far less toxic than cisplatin. It doesn’t indiscriminately target healthy and unhealthy cells like its platinum-based counterparts. The implication could mean that future cancer treatments with Gold(I), if they end up being approved for use in humans, could be more effective and less harmful to recipients.
Cisplatin patients also tend to develop drug resistance to it. Ovarian cancers are notoriously difficult to treat because of the potential for resistance. The dual action of targeting cancer enzymes while blocking the formation of new blood vessels has the scientists very excited about the potential of Gold(I).
The prospect of gold-based cancer treatments being a major breakthrough has also caught the attention of the gold industry. ABC Bullion of Australia has committed to donating 250 grams of gold (worth roughly $20,000 USD) to RMIT annually to continue its research. Agnico Eagle Mines, Canada’s largest gold mining company, has sent representatives to RMIT to see if there are ways they can collaborate with the research as well.
The bad news is that we’re still a few years away from human trials with Gold(I). It’s also a patented compound, so if it is eventually approved for use in humans, it could be worth far more than its weight in gold. The RMIT University scientists published their findings in the European Journal of Medical Chemistry in October.
