Rs 100 tablet to prevent resurgence of cancer: All you need to know

Imagine a pill that prevents metastasis and resurgence of cancer in a patient for the second time. And then imagine it costing only Rs 100. It seems to have become a reality.

The Tata Memorial Centre in Mumbai has claimed that it has discovered a treatment to prevent the relapse of the cancer. According to a report by NDTV, the institute has made a tablet that they say will reduce the side effects of cancer treatment like chemotherapy by about 50 per cent and the chances of getting cancer for a second time by 30 per cent.

Dr Rajendra Badve, a senior cancer surgeon at Tata Memorial Hospital, was quoted in the report as saying that this tablet is made up of resveratrol and copper (R+Cu). This combination produces oxygen radicals, which prevent chemotherapy toxicity and metastasis.

It is likely to be effective against the pancreas, lungs, and oral cancer.

When a patient is treated for cancer using radiation therapy, chemotherapy or surgery, the cancer cells die and break into tiny pieces called chromatin particles. These particles travel through the blood and enter the healthy cells. In many cases, they turn these healthy cells cancerous.

These chromatin particles may also fuse with healthy chromosomes and cause tumours.

Now, the R+Cu tablet generates oxygen particles that destroy these chromatin particles. When consumed orally, this pill would make the oxygen particles in the stomach, which will then be absorbed into the bloodstream.

Dr Badve said that the tablet is with the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) for approval. It is expected to be available in the market from June-July this year.

"While the budget for the treatment ranges from lakhs to crores, this tablet will be available everywhere for just Rs 100," he said.

Last year, Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai, and the Advanced Centre for Training Research and Education in Cancer (ACTREC), Navi Mumbai, in collaboration with IDRS Labs, Bangalore, announced the launch of the oral cancer drug "Prevall".

It was the liquid version of the chemo drug 6-mercaptopurine used to treat blood-related cancers like Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia.

It was approved by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) and has already been introduced at the hospital. It is expected to soon be available at hospital pharmacies across India soon.