Antimalarial drug combined with light sensitive molecules for promising treatment of cancer
ALA is used in photodynamic therapy, in combination with a special light source, to treat various types of cancer, including skin and prostate cancer. A team led by Dr Lin Qingsong from the Department of Biological Sciences at NUS Faculty of Science, together with Dr Wang Jigang and Professor Shen Han-Ming from the Department of Physiology at NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, recently discovered that a combination of artemisinin and ALA could kill colorectal cancer cells and suppress tumour growth more effectively than administering artemisinin alone. "Artemisinin and ALA are both existing drugs that are well tolerated by the human body. As such, this promising cancer treatment could have fewer side effects," explained Dr Wang. The findings of the study were published in the scientific journal ACS Central Science in July 2017. Understanding how artemisinin kills cancer cells Dr Lin said, "Artemisinin has been reported to possess anti-cancer activities in...