According to the press release "VCU study: Researchers discover a drug combination that shrinks tumors in vivo" by Sathya Achia Abraham, science researchers found that sildenafil (the generic name for Viagra), increased the effectiveness of doxorubicin against prostate cancer in mice. This occurred in part by a noticeable increase in the amount of apoptosis-inducing, reactive oxygen species within the tumor. While doxorubicin is a potent anti-cancer agent, it also is notoriously toxic particularly toward cardiac tissue. Interestingly, sildenafil also shows evidence of protecting heart tissue from the toxic effects of doxorubicin.
This data is quite interesting and although much more research needs to be done in animals and humans to understand the effectiveness and safety of this particular drug combination in the treatment of prostate cancer, it does illustrate an important goal of biomedical research. To develop novel chemotherapeutic combinations that will increase tumor cytotoxicity while decreasing the inadvertent toxicity and damage toward other normal tissues and organs.
Keep up the good work!
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