Chennai: Researchers at Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IIT-M) have come out with ROS studies to make traditional cancer therapies more effective.
The Research team studies Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS), which are highly reactive molecules such as hydrogen peroxide and hydroxyl radicals that are used in many common cancer therapies including chemotherapy.
The observations made by the IIT-M team show ways to fine tune anti-cancer therapies for better outcomes, a release from IIT-M said.
The research was led by Prof G K Suraishkumar and Prof D Karunagaran, Faculty, Department of Biotechnology, IIT-M.
Their recent work has been published in Springer-Nature’s prestigious peer-reviewed journal Scientific Reports.
The research paper was co-authored by Prof Suraishkumar, Prof. Karunagaran and Research Scholars, Uma Kizhuveetil and Sonal Omer and financially supported by a grant from Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), Department of Science and Technology (DST).
Prof Suraishkumar said, ‘ROS are molecules that are generated in the body during normal functioning and are associated with many metabolic processes. The regulation of these species is important because if there is excess produced, it can cause oxidative stress and damage to the cells, resulting in
inflammation and various diseases.’
‘Despite the known damaging effects of ROS, they can be used to destroy cells that we do not want–such as cancer cells. Indeed, common cancer therapies, including chemotherapy, are based on the action of ROS generated by the drug on cancer cells’, he added.
In the human body, antioxidant molecules are generated to moderate the levels of ROS present in the body, to prevent oxidative damage.
To optimize ROS-generating cancer treatment and counter treatments, oxidative stress is often assessed through measurement of the anti-oxidant levels in the cells.