#GoodNews: Scientists at IIT Madras Find Aspirin Could Cure Cancer

Pharmaceutical researchers will be able to design more potent anti-cancer drugs. (Photo: iStock)

For a few years now, scientists have been saying that the common headache medicine Aspirin could help cure cancer only they were not sure how. But a group of scientists from IIT Madras has figured out how to destroy cancer cells with the humble drug, as Times of India reported.

Their study, published in the peer-reviewed journal Scientific Reports, found that malignant cells which are high in a protein called voltage-dependent anion channel (VDAC) were targeted by the Aspirin.

The drug induces high levels of calcium ions in the mitochondria of the cancer cells. Elevated levels of calcium prevent mitochondria from breaking down food into energy. Aspirin prevents this energy production and releases toxic substances that kill the cell.

Amal Kanti Bera, Biotechnology Professor, IIT-M

Pharmaceutical researchers will be able to design more potent anti-cancer drugs, said Debanjan Tewari, a researcher who began his PhD work on the protein three years ago, when anti-cancer properties were found in animal studies.

When we understand how a molecule works, the scope for new drug discovery widens. 

Low-dose aspirin taken everyday can reduce risks of cardiac diseases in high-risk people, as research has shown. "We hope it has the same effect on cancer," said Tewari.

Cancer registries estimate that 14.5 lakh Indians live with the disease. Each year, over 7 lakh new cases are registered and 5.5 lakh die each year from the disease. An estimated 71 percent of all cancer-related deaths occur in the age group of 30-69 years.

Although most cancers are curable if detected early, only 4 out of 10 people receive proper treatment as it is not accessible or affordable, says Dr V Shantha. 2015 estimates show that 1.1 million were living with the disease and those receiving treatment and palliative care was 3.96 lakh.

Rs 1.75 lakh is the average amount a patient has to spend on cancer treatment. The cost is variable and can considerably shoot up depending on the stage, type of cancer and the hospital offering treatment.

For the IIT-M team, the results of the study are more than academic.

We all have seen someone we love suffer due to cancer.

Dhriti Majumdar

Low-cost molecules like Aspirin killing cancer can pave the way for affordable therapy.

We may not be able to say if aspirin can be directly used as an anti-cancer drug right away since it needs large clinical studies. But we know there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Amal Kanti Bera

Join The Quint on WhatsApp. Type “JOIN” and send to 9910181818.