New hope to prevent chemotherapy side effects

chemotherapy
Shown is a close-up of an intravenous (IV) bottle. Credit: Linda Bartlett/public domain

Research at the University of Adelaide is pointing towards a possible prevention of severe gut problems for patients undergoing chemotherapy for cancer.

Between 60-80% of being treated with chemotherapy experience debilitating side effects in the gut, depending on the dosage and type of chemotherapy used.

In a paper published in the journal Cancer Treatment Reviews, researchers in the University of Adelaide's School of Medical Sciences say an immune receptor could be to blame for exacerbating people's reactions to chemotherapy.

"While the treatment of the cancer itself is usually seen to be of prime importance, chemotherapy can and does have severe side effects for patients – such as diarrhoea, abdominal pain and in some cases, sepsis," says PhD student and lead author of the paper, Hannah Wardill.

"Treatment for these symptoms is limited and often not effective. Side effects of chemotherapy can cause multiple, co-existing health problems which greatly reduce the patient's quality of life and impact on the long term outlook for patients," she says.

Ms Wardill says the gut – one of the areas that is worst affected by chemotherapy – is the biggest organ in the body that is involved in generating an immune response, and growing evidence shows it can impact on the central nervous system.

"Our research has focused on the immune receptor known as Toll-Like receptor 4 (TLR4), which has been implicated not only in the development of gastrointestinal symptoms, but also appears to control people's sensitivity to pain.

"In our laboratory studies, we found that TLR4 sets up an inflammatory response that is exacerbated by chemotherapy. By knocking out the TLR4 receptor, we saw improvements across all key markers of gut toxicity as well as signs of reduced pain," she says.

Fellow PhD student and a co-author on the paper, Ysabella Van Sebille, says toxicity from chemotherapy continues to be under reported. "Toxicities associated with chemotherapy are a major concern within the field of supportive care in cancer, but we still don't understand the full extent of the problem. Our research has highlighted the potential to treat multiple of chemotherapy by targetting TLR4, which if successful could streamline symptom management," she says.

"The ultimate aim of our studies is to help find a way to mitigate the adverse health problems caused by , which could lead to improved overall care for patients. So far, TLR4 seems to be a promising target for further research."

More information: "Toll-like receptor 4 signaling: A common biological mechanism of regimen-related toxicities." DOI: dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ctrv.2014.11.005

Citation: New hope to prevent chemotherapy side effects (2015, January 12) retrieved 28 March 2024 from https://medicalxpress.com/news/2015-01-chemotherapy-side-effects.html
This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.

Explore further

Why placebos for chemotherapy side effects are hard to swallow

17 shares

Feedback to editors