![New breed of drug which reduces deaths from bladder cancer could replace chemotherapy treatment for other types of cancer](https://chadlaw.dnsupdate.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/syringe-and-tablets.jpg)
30
Mar 2021
New breed of drug which reduces deaths from bladder cancer could replace chemotherapy treatment for other types of cancer
The antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) carry out chemotherapy-like attacks on cancer cells without causing side effects such as nausea, fatigue and hair loss. It is highly accurate and is able to target tumours without harming healthy tissue, enabling doctors to give high doses.
Research into the ADC drug enfortumab vedotin on bladder cancer has shown it to reduce deaths by a third, and trials are now underway to test its effectiveness on breast and prostate cancer.
Lead researcher for the trial Professor Thomas Powles, oncologist and director of the Barts Cancer Centre, says ADCs mark a ‘new chapter’ in cancer treatment and may even lead to a cure.
He said “Chemotherapy is something of a blunt tool. When chemotherapy drugs enter your body, they damage cancer cells but they also damage your health cells. This causes side effects such as hair loss and nausea.
“ADCs are able to transport cancer-killing drugs directly to the cancer cells with limited effect on the rest of the body. This treatment will allow more patients to live a relatively normal life for longer.
“We’re still in the early days but this could eventually replace chemotherapy completely.
“If we could use ADC to keep the cancer in check, while immunotherapy trains the body to fight the cancer on its own, we may soon be talking about a cure for this horrible cancer, and others, too.”
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Posted by Tony May, Partner/head of Clinical Negligence Department, Chadwick Lawrence LLP (tonymay@chadlaw.co.uk ), medical negligence lawyers and clinical negligence solicitors in Huddersfield, Leeds, Wakefield and Halifax, West Yorkshire.
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