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Ecstasy could present a viable blood cancer treatment, say researchers
Published On: 19th August 2011
By: Elizabeth Smythe
A modified form of the drug ecstasy has been found to have cancer-treating properties, scientists have found.
Researchers at Birmingham University discovered that the drug, which had been adjusted to increase its "tumour-killing properties," writes The Telegraph, was 100 times more effective at suppressing growth.
Ecstasy, GPs and locum agencies doctors will be aware, is already acknowledged as being powerful against white blood cell cancers, such as leukaemia, lymphoma and myeloma. However, the doses required to successfully treat the disease would have been enough to kill a patient.
In the chemically-engineered version, called MDMA, scientists have replaced some of the more harmful atoms with new ones, which help reduce the toxic effect on the brain.
If MDMA could be produced in a safe form, doctors say it could present a viable treatment option.
Lead researcher, Professor John Gordon was understandably cautious, telling BBC News: "We would really need to pinpoint which are the most sensitive cases, but it has the potential to wipe out all the cancer cells in those examples.
"This is in the test tube, it could be different in the patient, but for now it's quite exciting."
Cancer charities were similarly guarded. "The prospect of being able to target blood cancer with a drug derived from ecstasy is a genuinely exciting proposition," added Dr David Grant of Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research.
"Further work is required but this research is a significant step forward in developing a potential new cancer drug."