In the new study, the researchers started with
55 samples of cancer cells that had developed resistance to a targeted
drug. Nearly half of the cells had been harvested directly from lung
cancer patients whose cancer had returned.
The researchers then used a relatively new
technique to grow those cancer cells in a dish, establishing a
population of cells that could be used to screen for possible
treatments.
Next, the scientists bombarded
those cancer cells with an array of 76 different drugs and watched to
see which ones would be effective. In 45 cases, they found that a novel
drug combination worked; the cancer cells became resensitized to the
initial drug that had stopped working.
Outside
researchers said the study pointed to a future direction for care and
was exciting because some of the drug combinations could not have been
predicted by genetic testing alone. Dr. Richard Schlegel, director of
the Center for Cell Reprogramming at Georgetown University School of
Medicine, said the work was “a mirror into the future” of cancer care.
But significant hurdles still exist before the tool could be used to direct a drug regimen.
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