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Erectile Dysfunction Drugs could help Treat Oesophageal Cancer, Study Finds

Erectile dysfunction drugs could help deal with oesophageal cancer, research study discovers

22 June 2022

An ingredient in impotence medication may assist deal with oesophageal cancer, a study has found.

Southampton scientists found the PDE5 inhibitors in the medication helped penetrate the barrier of cells around tumours, allowing chemotherapy drugs to reach cancer cells.

One in 10 patients currently endures the illness, which is found throughout the gullet, for 10 years or more.

The study was funded by Cancer Research UK. The next stage is a medical trial.

Prof Tim Underwood, lead author of the study, stated the discovery could enhance these .

He stated a cell called the cancer-associated fibroblast, accountable for injury healing, might be targeted with the inhibitors.

"It's been used throughout the world in millions of dosages," he explained. "It's safe, and we used it to cancer."

He added it was to the researchers "wonder and surprise and delight" that the drug had an impact.

"We need to put this into a medical trial where we try the drug type along with chemotherapy to see if it makes the chemotherapy more efficient," he said.

"The initial work suggests it must do, and if it does and if it's safe, and it improves results of chemotherapy, then it might be actually considerable for the patients I take care of."

The study was performed utilizing tumours from eight cancer patients, with additional tests done on mice.

Chemotherapy just assists 20% of oesophageal cancer patients in a significant method, he stated.

"If this drug combination even enhances it by a percentage, we're really going to help a large number of individuals every year to react better and live longer."

Researchers at Southampton University Hospitals state that the usual outcomes of erectile dysfunction condition drugs need additional stimulation, so would not impact cancer clients in the very same way.

Prof Underwood said the primary side effects would be "a little headache, a bit of flushing".

Terry Daly, from Aldershot, Hampshire, is one of the 9,500 people detected with oesophageal cancer in the UK every year.

It often goes unnoticed in the early phases, with Mr Daly discovering it was hard to swallow his food and he wound up regurgitating it.

He is shortly to undergo another round of chemotherapy, and said if he had the choice to take the brand-new treatment he would have "taken it with both hands".

"The research study that is being done is absolutely great," he said.

"It is simply amazing that there are people out there happy to spend their lives just attempting to discover a treatment, so that people can get on with their everyday lives and not need to go through all this stuff.

"You can't thank these people enough for what they're doing."

The five-year study has actually been moneyed by Cancer Research UK and the Medical Research Council.

A scientific trial is anticipated within the next 18 months and if successful, it is hoped brand-new treatments based upon this research could be used within 10 years.

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Related web links

Cancer Research UK

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Institute of Developmental Sciences - University of Southampton

What is oesophageal cancer? - NHS

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