There was an interesting case in 1971 when a woman of
38 was diagnosed with breast cancer that had spread to her bones too. She
became an alcoholic and this lead the doctors to stop her cancer treatment and
give her drugs to reduce her drinking. When she died ten years later because of
a fall from a window, her autopsy revealed that her bone tumours had melted and
only a few cancer cells were seen in her marrow.
Along with this case, there are other lab studies
showing that a drug used to discourage alcohol, which is
in use from 6 decades called asdisulfiramcan help fight cancer and reduce
cancer cells in the body. This drug is commercially known as Antabuse. This
drug blocks out a molecule which is part of a process to get rid of cellular
waste. Studies show that the drug can increase survival in women with breast
tumours. The studies show that the deaths due to cancer are reduced by 34% by
using this drug. Disulfiram helps in prostate, colon and breastcancers
including many others.
But some oncologists caution that disulfiram is not a
curefor most cancer patients. But, the drug can help in extending the lives of people
suffering from metastatic cancer. When disulfiram is given in combination with copper,
it has positive effects on cancer patients.
If more studies prove that this age old approved drug
is effective for cancer treatment, it will be a great advantage. This is
because it would have already passed safety testing saving time for the
approval of drugs. As there is no patent protection in the drug, big pharmaare
not quite interested in developing disulfiram for cancer. But, if the ongoing
clinical trials provide substantial evidences, oncologists can certainly
prescribe disulfiram because it is an inexpensive treatment.
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