PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A chemistry discovery from researchers at OHSU could make a previously limited anticancer treatment more widely effective and improve the quality of life for more patients.
The team uncovered a new class of PARP-1 inhibitors, which have recently served as an effective treatment for certain cancers — with limitations.
The new class would introduce anticancer properties that make inhibitors of PARP-1 more effective during treatment for ovarian, breast and prostate cancers.
Dr. Michael Cohen, a professor of chemical physiology and biochemistry, said his lab discovered a molecule with “sticky” properties that make the inhibitors toxic to cancer cells in low doses.
“This is something totally novel from what the existing compounds are doing,” Cohen said. “For all intents and purposes it just locks on to its target and almost never lets go.”
OHSU has optioned the treatment to Tilikum Therapeutics, a startup company co-founded by Cohen.
Cohen said the next steps include testing the treatment with animal models in order to assess side effects as well as dosing levels and frequency.