Platinum and Light: Hybrid Therapy for Cancer Created at MIREA

Scientists at the Russian Technological University (RTU MIREA) have developed a new combined anti-cancer drug that combines two methods of воздействие on the tumor — chemotherapy and photodynamic therapy. The drug is based on platinum compounds and natural chlorins. This combination can significantly increase the effectiveness of cancer treatment and reduce toxicity compared to traditional approaches.

Platinum drugs, such as cisplatin and carboplatin, have long been used in oncology, but are accompanied by serious side effects and are often ineffective against resistant tumors. Chlorins, in turn, are able to accumulate directly in cancer cells and, when activated by light, generate reactive oxygen species that destroy tumor tissue. Combining these mechanisms in one compound allows воздействовать on the tumor systemically and locally simultaneously.

The authors of the project found a way to integrate platinum complexes into the structure of chlorins, obtaining chemically stable hybrid compounds. The new approach helps to overcome both the toxicity of platinum drugs and the limitations of photodynamic therapy, which previously could only be used for superficial tumors.

The development, according to researchers, opens the way to new types of therapy for aggressive and treatment-resistant forms of cancer and may become the basis for creating more effective and safe cancer drugs.

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