Yahoo – AFP,
Jean-Louis SANTINI, July 27, 2017
A small green sponge, photographed by an ROV camera, seen in the waters off the coast of Alaska (AFP Photo) |
Washington
(AFP) - A small green sponge discovered in dark, icy waters of the Pacific off
Alaska could be the first effective weapon against pancreatic cancer,
researchers said on Wednesday.
Pancreatic
cancer, with particularly aggressive tumors, is notoriously difficult to treat.
"One
would never have imagined looking at this sponge that it could be
miraculous," Bob Stone, a researcher at the NOAA Alaska Fisheries Science
Center, said in a briefing by phone.
Stone
discovered the sponge, dull in color, called "Latrunculia austini" in
2005 while on a seabed exploration expedition in Alaska.
It lives on
rocks in patches at depths of 230-720 feet (70-219m).
Lab testing
has shown that several molecules in this sponge selectively destroy pancreatic
cancer cells, said Mark Hamann, a University of South Carolina researcher
working with Fred Valeriote of the Henry Ford Cancer Institute in Detroit.
"This
is undoubtedly the most active molecule against pancreatic cancer that we
see," said Hamann. "Although there is still much work to be done, it
marks the first key step in the discovery and process of developing a
treatment," he said.
Pancreatic
cancer progresses slowly, a circumstance which leaves patients in a tough
position as late diagnosis means little chance for successful treatment.
Patients'
chances of survival at five years for this tumor are only 14%, according to the
American Cancer Society.
"I've
looked at 5,000 sponge extracts over the last two decades," Valeriote
said. "In terms of this particular pattern of pancreatic and ovarian
cancer selective activity, we’ve only seen one (other) sponge with such
activity, and that was one collected many years ago in Indonesia."
In the
United States, 53,670 new cases of pancreatic cancer will be diagnosed in 2017
and more than 43,000 people will die.
No comments:
Post a Comment