Using nanoparticles as “Trojan horses”, scientists have designed and lab-tested a way to deliver an arsenic-based chemo drug that ferociously attacks cancer, but is gentler on the ovaries. They hope the new method will help to protect the fertility of women undergoing cancer treatment.
The team also developed a rapid way to test existing and new chemo drugs for their effect on ovarian function, so doctors and their female patients can make treatment decisions that minimize damage to ovaries and thus increase the chance of having a future family.
The new nanoparticle chemo drug they designed is the first cancer drug to be tested while in development for its effect on fertility using the new rapid toxicity test.
Advances in cancer therapy means more patients are surviving, but many female patients often face a temporary or permanent loss of fertility after undergoing traditional chemotherapy. Read full article.
