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Research says drug may treat brain cancer
PALO ALTO, Calif., Oct. 20 (UPI) -- The Stanford University School of Medicine announced Monday an old drug may be useful in treating glioblastoma, an incurable form of brain cancer.
Based on preliminary research, the school said the drug called arsenic trioxide increased the effectiveness of radiation therapy in mice with the disease.
The researchers will present their work this week during a meeting of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology.
Lead researcher Susan Knox said the use of arsenic trioxide with radiation may be one way to make the treatment more effective.
Arsenic trioxide is used in treating a rare form of leukemia and works, in part, by releasing damaging molecules called reactive oxygen species that destroy cancer cells.
Shoucheng Ning, who works with Knox, said the dose the mice received is low enough that it would not be toxic in humans.