Erectile Dysfunction Drugs might Assist Treat Oesophageal Cancer, Study Finds

Erectile dysfunction drugs could help deal with oesophageal cancer, study discovers

22 June 2022

An ingredient in impotence medication might help deal with oesophageal cancer, a study has found.

Southampton scientists found the PDE5 inhibitors in the medication assisted penetrate the barrier of cells around tumours, making it possible for chemotherapy drugs to reach cancer cells.

One in 10 clients presently makes it through the illness, which is found anywhere in the craw, for 10 years or more.

The research study was moneyed by Cancer Research UK. The next phase is a scientific trial.

Prof Tim Underwood, lead author of the study, said the discovery might improve these survival rates.

He stated a cell called the cancer-associated fibroblast, responsible for wound recovery, might be targeted with the inhibitors.

“It’s been used throughout the world in millions of doses,” he explained. “It’s safe, and we used it to cancer.”

He added it was to the scientists “awe and surprise and delight” that the drug had an effect.

“We need to put this into a medical trial where we attempt the drug type alongside chemotherapy to see if it makes the chemotherapy more reliable,” he said.

“The preliminary work recommends it needs to do, and if it does and if it’s safe, and it enhances results of chemotherapy, then it could be truly significant for the clients I care for.”

The study was performed using tumours from eight cancer patients, with additional tests done on mice.

Chemotherapy only helps 20% of oesophageal cancer clients in a significant way, he said.

“If this drug mix even improves it by a percentage, we’re actually going to help a a great deal of people every year to react much better and live longer.”

Researchers at Southampton University Hospitals state that the usual results of erectile dysfunction condition drugs require additional stimulation, so would not impact cancer patients in the exact same way.

Prof Underwood said the main negative effects would be “a bit of headache, a bit of flushing”.

Terry Daly, from Aldershot, Hampshire, is among the 9,500 people diagnosed with cancer in the UK every year.

It often goes unnoticed in the early phases, with Mr Daly discovering it was difficult to swallow his food and he ended up regurgitating it.

He is quickly to go through another round of chemotherapy, and said if he had the option to take the new treatment he would have “taken it with both hands”.

“The research that is being done is definitely great,” he said.

“It is simply incredible that there are individuals out there happy to invest their lives simply attempting to discover a remedy, so that people can get on with their everyday lives and not have to go through all this things.

“You can’t thank these individuals enough for what they’re doing.”

The five-year study has actually been funded by Cancer Research UK and the Medical Research Council.

A medical trial is expected within the next 18 months and if effective, it is hoped brand-new treatments based on this research could be utilized within ten years.

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Related web links

Cancer Research UK

University Hospital Southampton

Institute of Developmental Sciences – University of Southampton

What is oesophageal cancer? – NHS

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