A new study revealed cancer patients that have healthy and functioning gastrointestinal tracts have an increased chance of surviving the disease.
Cancer is the leading cause of death in America, accounting for over 60 percent of deaths in the country. Researchers observe that while this number has decreased over the last few years, cancer deaths among the lesser educated segment is two and a half times higher than the rest of the country's population, the American Cancer Society states.
Cancer patients need a lot of serious treatments to increase their chances of survival. However, most often, the radiation and chemotherapy sessions that are part of these treatments kill a patient faster than the tumor.
A new study conducted by researchers from the University of Michigan School revealed that cancer patients with healthy and functioning gastrointestinal tracts have an increased chance of surviving this lethal disease.
"All tumors from different tissues and organs can be killed by high doses of chemotherapy and radiation, but the current challenge for treating the later-staged metastasized cancer is that you actually kill the host before you kill the tumor," revealed Jian-Guo Geng, associate professor at the University Of Michigan School Of Dentistry, in a press release.
During the course of the research, Geng and his team found that when certain proteins bind with a specific molecule on intestinal stem cells, these cells increase intestinal regeneration and repair in mice. By doing so, stem cells begin to naturally heal damaged organs and tissues. In the absence of this protein, the "normal" stem cells in the intestine simply cannot keep up with the damage caused by radiation and chemotherapy.
The test is yet to be conducted on humans but Gen is hopeful that it could provide humans a way to survive lethal doses of chemotherapy required to eradicate cancer tumors completely.
"It's our belief that this could eventually cure later-staged metastasized cancer. People will not die from cancer, if our prediction is true," said Geng. "We cannot know this yet, but in mice it has shown promise. Years down the road, we may have a way to make humans tolerate lethal doses of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. In this way, the later-staged, metastasized cancer can be eradicated by increased doses of chemotherapy and radiation."
He also clarified that if the test conducted on humans is successful, it could take a decade of longer to develop an actual application/medication that humans could use.
