NEW DELHI: Tata Memorial Hospital (TMH) has introduced a ₹100 mg tablet aimed at reducing chemotherapy’s side effects and preventing cancer’s resurgence. Dr Rajendra Badwe, Director of the Tata Memorial Centre, disclosed in an interview with NDTV that the tablet, currently undergoing the approval process from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), is poised to revolutionise cancer treatment.
A decade-long research study by TMH doctors revealed that dying cancer cells release cell-free chromatin particles post-chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
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These particles can potentially transform healthy cells into cancerous ones. The institute explored a combination of resveratrol and copper, described as pro-oxidant, to counteract chromatin and manage toxicity in chemotherapy patients.
“The research delves into the mechanism of metastasis that we were not able to uncover for so long. What qualities the cells have that metastasis can happen and what leads to metastasis, we have understood both these things through this research,” Dr Badwe said.
He further stated that the tablet, once approved, could reduce chemotherapy side effects by 50% and decrease the likelihood of cancer relapse by 30%. This affordable solution is hailed as the most cost-effective cancer treatment to date.
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Dr Indraneel Mittra, the onco-surgeon-turned-scientist and lead scientist in the TMH study, explained their experiments involving human breast cancer cells implanted in mice. The combination of resveratrol and copper, administered orally, demonstrated efficacy in inhibiting chromatin formation and preventing metastasis.
Dr. Mittra said, “Within six weeks, a small tumour was formed. We divided the mice into three categories according to the cancer treatment—chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery. We found that all the three treatments increased chromatin in the mouse brain.”
Despite these promising results, the tablet’s practical application for preventing cancer resurgence may take 5-6 years, as clinical trials are yet to be conducted.
