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Scientists are looking for a new breast cancer wonder drug – in sharks.It is hoped that antibodies found the giants of the deep will lead to the ‘the new Herceptin’.
Hailed as the biggest development in breast cancer for at least 25 years when it was launched more than a decade ago, Herceptin treats an especially fast-growing and spreading form of the disease.
One in four of the 44,000 British women diagnosed with breast cancer each year have this HER2-positive form of breast cancer.
But Herceptin doesn’t work in all cases and sometimes it only offers brief respite, so new treatments are still needed.
Researchers believe the powerful immune system of the shark may hold the answer. They have taken HER2 protein, which sits on the surface of tumours and fuels their growth, and injected it into sharks, to trigger the production of antibodies against it
The Aberdeen University researchers believe the powerful immune system of the shark may hold the answer.
They have taken HER2 protein, which sits on the surface of tumours and fuels their growth, and injected it into sharks, to trigger the production of antibodies against it.
Researcher Helen Dooley, who has received a £200,000 grant from the Association for International Cancer Research, said: ‘It is just like going to the doctor to get your holiday shots. But instead of getting a shot in the arm, they get a shot in the fin. ‘We let it cook for a couple of months and then go in and take a blood sample from their tail.’
It is hoped the blood contains antibodies that home in on the HER-2 protein and stop cancerous cells from growing and spreading.
A synthetic version of these antibodies could then be used as a drug.
Shark antibodies are key because they are able to squeeze into very small spaces it is hoped they will reach parts of the HER2 protein that other drugs can’t.
Dr Dooley said: ‘Herceptin is a brilliant drug but some women don’t respond to it and other women become resistant to it after a period of time.’
The experiments are being done on nurse sharks, huge but docile creatures which make a sucking sound when hunting for prey that resembles the sound of a baby that is feeding.
A special colony is kept in an aquarium in Baltimore in the US and blood samples are shipped to Dr Dooley’s lab in Aberdeen for analysis.
It is hoped the shark blood contains antibodies that home in on the HER-2 protein and stop cancerous cells from growing and spreading. A synthetic version of these antibodies could then be used as a drug
Dr Dooley, who takes blood samples from the sharks’ tails, said nurse sharks were chosen because of their gentle nature.
‘It is much harder to get a blood sample from a great white’.
The preliminary nature of the work means that it is still at least a decade before any drug is tested on women for the first time.
Dr Caitlin Palframan, of Breakthrough Breast Cancer, said: ‘Breast cancer is not a done deal and we need to keep developing new treatments for the disease.
‘We look forward to seeing the results of this research in the future as, although it is a very effective drug, Herceptin sometimes does not work or can stop working over time, so we’re in need of drugs that can complement it.’
She added that any new drugs have to be cheap enough for patients to benefit.
Herceptin was the subject of high-profile battles for NHS funding when it was first launched and two ‘highly promising’ new breast cancer drugs have recently been deemed too expensive for widespread use.
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