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In late 2024, a study by a team of researchers from Australia and India found that there's a potential gold-based drug that could help treat cancer considerably better than the conventional treatments in Medical Science. The drug is reported to have slowed down tumour growth in animals by 82%. Scientists believe the gold compound is 27 times more potent against cervical cancer cells in mice than standard chemo drugs like Cisplatin. Plus, the gold compound is also said to be 3.5x more effective against prostate cancer.
The RMIT University study published in the European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry is led by Professor Suresh Bhargava AM, director of RMIT's Centre for Advanced Materials and Industrial Chemistry. The RMIT team is collaborating with scientists at the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT) in Hyderabad under a $2million Australia-India Strategic Research Fund grant. Dr Srinivasa Reddy, is a graduate from RMIT's joint PhD program with IICT along with Professor Magdalena Plebanski, is co-leading the team of young scientists including Dr Srinivasa Reddy, Dr Steven Priver, Dr Ruchika Ojha, Dr Ranjith Jakku, and Dr Tayebeh Hosseinnejad, while Six PhD students from India, Germany, Australia, Bangladesh and Mexico have also joined the globally collaborative effort.
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Also Read: Top 5 Most Common Cancers Among Indian Men
Why Gold?
Gold is known as the ‘noblest’ of all metals because it reacts little to none while encountering other substances; a property that makes it perfect for ornamental use. However, the gold compound used in the study is a synthetically tailored form of the metal known as Gold(I), and it is designed to be biologically active and hyper reactive. Gold(I) was then tailored to interact with an enzyme abundant in cancer cells: thioredoxin reductase. The gold compound blocks the protein's activity, and shuts down the cancer cells before they multiply and become resistant. This targeted approach minimizes the toxic side effects seen with the platinum-based Cisplatin, that targets DNA and damages cancerous cells but harms the healthy cells as well. Gold on the other hand is selective in targeting cancer cells and exudes minimal systemic toxicity, making it more effective and far less harmful at the same time.
“These newly synthesized compounds demonstrate remarkable anticancer potential, outperforming current treatments in a number of significant aspects including their selectivity in targeting cancer cells,” says Suresh Bhargava, the co-lead of the projects
This specific form of gold has also proved more stable than those used in earlier studies, which allows the compound to remain intact while reaching the tumour site.
Project co-lead at RMIT, Professor Magdalena Plebanski, says that along with this ability to block protein activity, the compound also had another weapon in its anti-cancer arsenal. In zebrafish studies, it was shown to stop the formation of new blood vessels that tumours need in order to grow.
‘This two pronged approach was demonstrated against a range of cancer cells. This was the first time one of the team's various gold compounds had shown this effect, known as anti-angiogenesis,’ she adds.
The Future?
The gold-based compound is now protected by a US Patent and ready for further development towards potential clinical application. Of late, gold-based cancer treatments are gaining global attention, with advancements such as the repurposing of the anti-arthritic drug auranofin, showing promise in clinical trials for oncology. This particular study, though, emphasizes the importance of Global cooperation in the fight against cancer.