Drug combo may prove effective against leukaemia

New Delhi, Apr 29 (ANI): Researchers claim to have found a combination of existing drugs which can be effective against blood cancer that affects mainly older adults. Researchers tested to see if existing drug arsenic trioxide (ATO) was effective in combination with all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) in both the mouse model and in humans. They determined that the combination proved 'powerfully and exquisitely effective' against acute myeloid leukaemia (AML). While most patients initially respond to chemotherapy against (AML), more than half of those who respond will eventually relapse as the cancer cells develop resistance to treatment. The experiment identified key processes these cancer cells use to develop or evolve against drug in response to therapies according to the study published in the Journal of Cell Research. Moreover, the team demonstrated that a combination of drugs already in use for the treatment of another type of leukaemia worked equally as well against this form of AML i