In today’s world, there’s a sad but likely chance you know someone who has been diagnosed with cancer.
Researchers are continuing to come up with treatments to save lives or extend life expectancy. One of those drugs is cisplatin.
But sometimes cisplatin can cause complications like pain in the hands and feet, and even kidney failure.
Now, a Michigan State University researcher has found an existing drug that could help to mitigate the side effects of cisplatin.
Geoffroy Laumet joins WKAR's Megan Schellong to discuss this commonly used cancer-treating drug and what implications his research has for reducing side effects.
Interview Highlights
On what happens inside the body when someone with cancer takes istradefylline while being treated with cisplatin
So, cisplatin is a molecule that is toxic, and so is a great thing when it enters into the tumor, it will kill the cancer cell. But the problem of cisplatin is that it will also go to other organ, and kill our healthy cell that we need. And so it's a very good proper point of istradefylline, that it will help the cisplatin to get out of the of the healthy tissue, but it doesn't, but it keeps it in the cancer. So when we give istradefylline, cisplatin will stay in the cancer cell and keep them, which is great for treating cancer, but you will stimulate the exit of cisplatin for the healthy cell. And so it will reduce the toxic effects of cisplatin on kidney cell or neuron.
On what he hopes the human clinical trials will reveal
So right now, istradefylline, not istradefylline exactly, but a drug that is very similar, is already in clinical trial in some type of cancer. But if they are looking only at the effect on the cancer growth, and if it’s killing the cancer. They're not looking at the side effect. So it would be very interesting that in this clinical trial that is already ongoing, if we can have a look at the side effect of cisplatin to see if istradefylline or a similar molecule can indeed alleviate the side effect.
On what implications his research has for other cancer-treating drugs
So right now, we don't know. But the side effects that we observe with cisplatin, such as pain or kidney failure are not specific for cisplatin but happened with a lot of different chemotherapy. So that's my personal view, but I think istradefylline can have a similar protective effect for other chemotherapy.
Interview Transcript
Megan Schellong: In today’s world, there’s a sad but likely chance you know someone who has been diagnosed with cancer.
Researchers are continuing to come up with treatments to save lives or extend life expectancy. One of those drugs is cisplatin.
But sometimes cisplatin can cause complications like pain in the hands and feet, and even kidney failure.
Now, a Michigan State University researcher has found an existing drug that could help to mitigate the side effects of cisplatin.
Geoffroy Laumet joins me now to discuss this commonly used cancer-treating drug and what implications his research has for reducing the side effects.
Geoffroy, thanks for joining me.
Geoffroy Laumet: Hi, good morning, Megan.
Schellong: How did your team come up with the idea to see how istradefylline interacts with cisplastin?
Laumet: So, cisplatin is a very efficient chemotherapy that saves complex life by killing cancer cells, but cisplatin will also damage healthy cells in your body. And one thing that cisplatin does is to increase the release of molecules that's called adenosine from the cell. And adenosine in too big quantity can become toxic. And istradefylline is actually a molecule that can block the effect of adenosine. And so by doing that, it will reduce the side effect of cisplatin.
Schellong: What exactly is happening inside the body when someone with cancer takes istradefylline while being treated with cisplatin?
Laumet: So, cisplatin is a molecule that is toxic, and so the great thing when it enters into the tumor, it will kill the cancer cell. But the problem of cisplatin is that it will also go to other organs, and kill our healthy cell that we need. And so it's a very good proper point of istradefylline, that it will help the cisplatin to get out of the healthy tissue, but it keeps it in the cancer. So when we give istradefylline, cisplatin will stay in the cancer cell and keep them, which is great for treating cancer, but you will stimulate the exit of cisplatin for the healthy cell. And so it will reduce the toxic effects of cisplatin on kidney cell or neuron.
Schellong: If you’re just joining us now, we’re speaking with a Michigan State University researcher who has found that an existing drug could help to mitigate the side effects of a commonly used cancer treatment, and how are you able to see this happen in the lab? Like, what does it look like under a microscope? Or can you paint us a visual?
Laumet: Yes. So we can call, we can use some technique that's called immunofluorescence. So basically, we're able to make some, some specific protein or molecule, fluorescent. And so what we did we, we make this adenosine receptor, fluorescent red. And so, under a microscope, it became red, and it was bright red. So it was very easy to easy to see compared to other molecules. And we could see that this bright red increased drastically in cells of animals treated with cisplatin.
Schellong: Current research has only been conducted on animals, what are you hoping the human clinical trials will reveal?
Laumet: So right now, istradefylline, not istradefylline exactly, but a drug that is very similar, is already in clinical trial in some type of cancer.
But they are looking only at the effect on the cancer growth, and if it’s killing the cancer. They're not looking at the side effect. So it would be very interesting that in this clinical trial that is already ongoing, if we can have a look at the side effect of cisplatin to see if istradefylline or a similar molecule can indeed alleviate the side effect.
Schellong: Not all people diagnosed with cancer will take cisplatin for treatment, so what implications might your research have for other cancer-treating drugs?
Laumet: So that's a great question that we also want to investigate. So right now, we don't know. But the side effects that we observe with cisplatin, such as pain or kidney failure are not specific for cisplatin but happened with a lot of different chemotherapy. So that's my personal view, but I think istradefylline can have a similar protective effect for other chemotherapy.
Schellong: Geoffroy Laumet is an assistant professor in the College of Natural Science who specializes in cisplatin-induced neuropathic pain.
Thanks for your time.
Laumet: Thank you, Megan.
This conversation has been edited for clarity and conciseness.