Here are a few excerpts from the article:
The new molecule targets a protein present in most cancers that helps tumors grow and multiply in the body. It is significant because this protein - the proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) - was previously thought to be 'undruggable'.Assuming the clinical trials show no serious side-effects and successful destruction of tumor cells this drug has enormous life-saving potential considering all the types of cancers that it's believed to be effective against.
The drug was tested on 70 different cancer cells in the lab - including those derived from breast, prostate, brain, ovarian, cervical, skin, and lung cancer - and was effective against them all.
The pill is the culmination of 20 years of research and development by the City of Hope Hospital in Los Angeles, one of America's largest cancer centers.The medicine is code-named AOH1996 after Anna Olivia Healy, who died in 2005 from a deadly childhood cancer aged nine.
The researchers found the pill prevented cells with damaged DNA from dividing and from making a copy of faulty DNA, causing cancer cell death, known as apoptosis, but it did not interrupt healthy stem cells.
The results will now need to be replicated in people. The drug is currently being tested on humans in a Phase 1 clinical trial at City of Hope.
What an amazing blessing it would be if it works on humans!