https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2095610/Silver-bullet-cancer-Metal-kill-tumours-better-chemotherapy-fewer-effects.html
Silver bullet for cancer: Metal can kill some tumours better than
chemotherapy with fewer side effects
By Anthony Bond
Updated: 16:00 EDT, 2 February 2012
Silver can kill some cancers as effectively as chemotherapy and with
potentially fewer side effects, new research claims.
Scientists say that old wives tales about the precious metal being a
‘silver bullet’ to beat the Big C could be true.
The metal already has a wide range of medicinal uses and is a common
antiseptic, antibiotic and means of purifying water in the third world.
Good news: Silver can kill some cancers as effectively as chemotherapy and
with potentially fewer side effects, new research has claimed
Good news: Silver can kill some cancers as effectively as chemotherapy and
with potentially fewer side effects, new research has claimed
And British researchers now say that silver compounds are as effective at
killing certain cancer cells as a leading chemotherapy drug, but with
potentially far fewer side-effects.
They compared it to Cisplatin, currently used to treat a wide variety of
cancers, but known to have harsh side effects including nausea, vomiting
and even kidney damage.
Silver is used already in everyday products such as deodorant with no known
side-effects, and could make for a potentially cheaper alternative to
platinum-based Cisplatin.
The moving moment a six-year-old girl clips her cancer-stricken
mother's hair to prepare her for chemotherapy
Researchers from the University of Leeds conducted lab tests which exposed
breast and colon cancer cells to various silver-based chemicals over a six
day period.
Results, published in journal Dalton Transactions, showed that these
silver-compounds were ‘as effective as Cisplatin’ at killing cancer with
potentially fewer side effects.
While the team are still unsure about how exactly silver battles cancer,
they think its effectiveness may be caused by the structure surrounding
silver atoms, known as its ligand.
Way forward: Researchers from the University of Leeds found that silver
could be used to help defeat breast cancer
Way forward: Researchers from the University of Leeds found that silver
could be used to help defeat breast cancer
They think this may help release the silver ion into cells when it enters
the body, killing any cancer.
Study author Dr Charlotte Willans plans to spend the next year looking
closely at what effect silver has on both cancerous and healthy cells, and
whether it could be a safe and effective new anti-cancer drug.
She said: 'It’s certainly an exciting discovery, although I think we have a
lot of work to do in the future. It opens the doors in terms of what we can
do and investigate.
'Getting these results also gives us the opportunity we need to apply for
funding to take the research further.
'This could lead to a cheaper, less toxic alternative to current treatments
for cancer.'
Explaining the research in greater detail, Dr Willans added: 'As many are
unfortunately aware, chemotherapy can be a very gruelling experience for
the patient.
'Finding effective, yet non-toxic drugs is an ongoing problem, but these
preliminary results are an important step in solving it.
'Our research has looked at the structure which surrounds a central silver
atom. This "shrubbery" is what determines how reactive it is and what it
will interact with.
'Our research has used different types of these ligands to see which is the
most effective against cancer cells.'
