European Union funding is helping to find
cancer treatments for certain deadly tumours using small marine animals. European researchers are using chemical agents extracted from a type of Caribbean sea squirt, named Ecteinascidia turbinata, to treat some tumours. The breakthrough findings will soon be published in the Marine Drugs journal. The project on “A novel marine pharmaceutical with unique mechanism of action for the treatment of cancer”, has helped to establish trials in 24 EU centres across seven European countries. The project, involving Dutch, French and Spanish participants, aims to test the chemicals in treating sarcomas, a rare tumour that kills about 3,900 Europeans a year. Although sarcomas respond to
chemotherapy, which shrinks the tumour’s growth, a cure has not yet been found. But the discovery of the alkaloid chemical, Ecteinascidin-743 (ET-743), is a breakthrough for medical science. The chemical is used as a chemotherapeutic agent and has shown promising results in patients where other treatments have failed. It has enormous potential for treating a range of cancers, such as
breast cancer.
“This represents an important medical development in the treatment of certain cancers,” European Research Commissioner Philippe Busquin said. “Cancer kills more than 750,000 people a year. The EU is investing up to €400 million in cancer research over 4 years. But our investments will only bear fruit if researchers and funding agencies across Europe work together. The project shows it is possible to overcome fragmentation in cancer research and involve private companies in developing new cancer cures.”
EU funding for trials could help save lives
Natural resources found in the ocean, such as algae, seaweed and marine animals can help treat cancers. Early trials of the alkaloid, ET-743, or Yondelis, which is extracted from the sea squirts, have shown promising results. In May 2001 the European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products gave Yondelis “orphan status”, a class of drugs targeting rare diseases, to treat sarcomas.