Hybrid Aspirin to Fight Cancer

Designer or hybrid aspirin developed by scientists has better cancer-fighting ability and in some cases might reduce the harmful side effects of taking aspirin daily, say scientists.

The new form is named NOSH-aspirin, as it releases nitric oxide (NO) and hydrogen sulfide (H2S).

Pancreatic Cancer - All About the Disease, its Diagnosis and Management
Pancreatic cancer often involves its exocrine part. It grows aggressively, and often detected late. Treatment options include surgery, radiation and chemotherapy.

Khosrow Kashfi, Ravinder Kodela and Mitali Chattopadhyay point out that NO and H2S are signalling substances produced in the body that relax blood vessels, reduce inflammation and have a variety of other effects.

Scientists previously developed designer aspirin that releases NO in an effort to reduce aspirin's potential adverse effects in causing bleeding in the gastrointestinal tract.

Another designer aspirin that releases H2S was developed which also has anti-inflammatory properties and appears safe to the stomach.

Aspirin
This medication is an analgesic and antipyretic, prescribed for pain, heart attack and fever.
The drug decreases the substances that cause pain and inflammation.

Since NO and H2S are gases with physiological relevance, and Kashfi's group had previously shown beneficial effects with both NO- and H2S-aspirins, they postulated that a new hybrid that incorporated both of these entities might be even more potent and effective than either one alone.

Their hypothesis has proved to be correct.

New Hybrid Aspirin More Effective Against Cancer
Scientists have developed a new hybrid aspirin that appears more effective in controlling the growth of several forms of cancer.

They found indications that the new hybrid inhibits the growth of breast, colon, pancreas, lung, prostate and some leukemia cancer cells in laboratory tests.

Some of the NOSH-aspirins tested were more than 100,000 times more powerful against cancer cell growth than aspirin alone. Promisingly, the group reported that their hybrids did not damage normal cells.

Can Aspirin Prevent Cervical Cancer in HIV-infected Women?
Research suggests that aspirin should be evaluated for its ability to prevent development of cervical cancer in HIV-infected women.

The study has been published in the journal ACS Medicinal Chemistry Letters.

Source-ANI