Scientists Discover A Drug To Alleviate The Side Effects Of Chemotherapy

Even if they tell us we will get better, we are still afraid of cancer. The people who have suffered from the disease actually say that the worst is not the chemotherapy itself but its side effects.

Therefore, the scientific community is looking for solutions to reduce the side effects of chemotherapy, but they must have the necessary effectiveness.

It’s not easy, especially when it comes to lung cancer. However, very important progress is being made, such as the developments we will talk about below.

However, we would first like to remind you of the consequences of undergoing chemotherapy. In addition to hair loss, which is the most well-known side effect, you may also experience:

• General malaise
• Nausea
• Vomit
• Acute pain
• Damage to other organs

This type of drug is so strong that it can damage organs that were healthy in the first place.

You should also be aware that there is a battle going on between the cells in your body.

The evil cells must kill the good ones to survive and need all their strength to do so. To kill the attackers, we must endanger healthy tissues.

That is why scientists are looking for alternatives that reduce these disadvantages. The goal is clear: to improve the quality of life of cancer patients and survivors.

Immunotherapy: Key to Reducing Chemotherapy Side Effects in Lung Cancer Patients

Now that we know more about good and bad cells, scientists found that strengthening the good cells was the best way to avoid the side effects of chemotherapy, rather than trying to kill the bad cells. This is called immunotherapy.

Despite the results achieved in this area, the desired results for lung cancer patients had not yet been achieved.

As soon as this problem was noticed,  researchers began to study how lung tumors behave in order to start growing again after cancer treatment.

Ultimately, the researchers found that lung tumors developed barriers that prevented the drug from coming into contact with its target, while in other cases the immune system created a kind of tolerance through it.

So the next question was obvious. “How do we get the drug that minimizes the side effects of chemotherapy for lung cancer to overcome these hurdles?”

A team of oncologists in a hospital in Madrid (Spain) was able to outline how to do this.

The cancer treatment no longer focuses on the immune system in general but on a specific protein called PD1.

dr. Gil Bazo, a medical oncology specialist, explains that when this protein encounters another protein PD-L1 and the two link up, the tumor does not identify it as an enemy and leaves it alone.

And so the drug that inspires much hope and gave rise to the name Pembrolizumab.

However, it cannot be used in all cases. Its effectiveness depends on the presence of PD-L1. For the protein fusion to take place, the presence must be greater than 51% when combining with the other protein.

The drug can control lung cancer

In other articles, we’ve talked about therapies that extend life expectancy, although they can’t completely destroy the tumor. The lives of these people will of course not be without symptoms, but the patients will live.

At this point, too, it is inevitable to think of ailments such as syphilis, tuberculosis, and asthma, as they were all once deadly incurable diseases. However, their current status is very different.

These and other similar conditions have disappeared or remain part of the life of the person who suffers from them, but do not prevent them from living a good life.

So in addition to the side effects of chemotherapy , the first steps are being taken to be able to control one of the most deadly tumors.

Lung cancer is very aggressive. In addition, this cancer is usually linked to very specific lifestyle habits that many people find difficult to quit, such as smoking and drinking.

This makes it one of the most difficult cancers to treat and therefore one of the deadliest.

The approval of Pembrolizumab by the European Commission puts us at the beginning of an exciting journey. A race in which we finally have a chance to win.

Finally

Living without giving up your dignity is always a victory.

Aware of this,  oncologists are focusing their efforts on taking the next step. They know better than anyone that the last word has not yet been said in the world of medicine and science.

In fact, we have reached this point today because scientists have not given up. And because they didn’t accept that some facts seemed to be set in stone.

Of course they make the best revolutionary minds. A kind of mind that rebels when confronted with the “impossible” to improve the lives of others.