New target identified to beat cancer drug resistance: Study

SYDNEY - Researchers from Australia's University of Queensland have identified a new drug target that has the potential to overcome drug resistance and prevent tumour regrowth in cancer patients, reported Xinhua.

The newly identified molecule, which is currently not a target for cancer treatment, will open the potential for drug development, a news release quoted Helmut Schaider, an associate professor from the university's Frazer Institute, as saying on Thursday.

The research, published in the Drug Resistance Updates, has identified a molecule that is crucial for cancer cells to regain the ability to proliferate while under treatment, said Schaider.

"The next step is to develop drugs to target this molecule."

Drug resistance is the single major cause of death in cancer patients, and it affects all cancer types with adverse outcomes for patients and the healthcare system, said Schaider.

He said a global research effort was underway to learn how cancer patients develop resistance to drugs and to find suitable targets for intervention, but so far, success had been limited. - BERNAMA-XINHUA