New hope in fight against cancer
Cancer patients may eventually be spared the debilitating side effects of chemotherapy, including hair loss, thanks to pioneering research in Melbourne.
A new research facility at the St Vincent's Institute (SVI) is revolutionising the way Melbourne scientists develop anti-cancer treatments and improve the efficiency of existing drugs.
The $1.1 million facility includes an X-ray crystallography machine that maps the make-up of cancer causing proteins, which are invisible to the naked eye.
The proteins are transferred into 3D digital images and screened against a database of four million manufactured compounds with the hope of finding a match that will inhibit cancer growth.
A robotic machine then tests their compatibility.
The technology is five times faster than its predecessor.
SVI Rational Drug Discovery Facility head Professor Michael Parker said the facility had applications in the development of new cancer treatments and improving the efficiency of existing drugs.
"There are problems with existing drugs, we haven't got the cure for all the different cancers around so there's still a lot of work to be done," he said.
Prof Parker said one research project involved the discovery of compounds that prevent protein molecules from attacking cancer-fighting drugs.
"If we can do that what it means for the patient is lower doses of chemotherapy and, hopefully, for a shorter duration, so to limit those harmful side effects of chemotherapy," he said.
"We do have other projects which we hope will turn into cures for certain cancers and hopefully with these new drugs they won't have the toxic side effects and hopefully it will improve the success rate of cancer treatment."
The discovery and research phase is the first step in creating new cancer cures.
The entire development process takes up to 15 years in collaboration with the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries and costs about $US800,000 ($A1.02 million), Prof Parker said.
The SVI facility was officially opened on Thursday by Victorian Innovation Minister John Brumby following a $900,000 grant from the Australian Cancer Research Foundation.
"Cancer kills more people than anything else and it is in fact the number one killer of Australians," Mr Brumby said.
"Three out of 10 Australians will be diagnosed with cancer at some stage in their life.
"So it is crucial that we do equip our researchers with the best opportunities to investigate new treatments and to develop new technologies."
Ganoderma & Cancer
