International research team develops method that could aid in previously untreatable tumors.
The precious metal ruthenium could potentially aid in cancer treatment in the future, even working in cases where current therapies reach their limits. Conventional drugs require oxygen to be effective – a challenge since many tumors have low-oxygen regions within them, explains Dr. Johannes Karges of Ruhr University Bochum. These regions form because tumors grow rapidly, consuming a lot of oxygen, while their blood vessel growth is not always able to keep up. Together with an international research team, Karges is developing a new method that operates independently of oxygen levels. This method uses ruthenium-based nanocatalysts that oxidize glutathione, a tripeptide essential for cancer cell survival, thereby neutralizing it.
While all cells rely on glutathione, Karges explains that the catalyst acts selectively because it is encased in polymer nanoparticles, which specifically accumulate in tumor tissue. According to the publication in Nature Communications, previous metal-based catalytic drugs typically lacked strong cancer selectivity. The effectiveness of this newly developed method has been demonstrated in experiments on cancer cells and animal models: In mice with tumor types considered incurable in humans, the cancer tissue was nearly entirely eliminated. These promising results require further studies to confirm their effectiveness before potential human applications can be considered.
More on Ruthenium in Cancer Treatment: This is not the first time ruthenium has shown promise in cancer research. The metal may also help in fighting particularly aggressive forms of breast cancer and in cases where resistance to existing drugs has developed.
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