Ewing sarcoma, an aggressive tumor that commonly affects bones in adolescents and young adults, is diagnosed in about 225 American children and teens every year, accounting for about 1 percent of pediatric cancers. Although Ewing sarcoma has been studied for decades, it has no effective cure and a survival rate of just 20-30% for patients who relapse; furthermore, most treatment require surgical resections or amputation and this impacts quality of life of the patients. But a research team at Houston Methodist aims to change those odds.
A new possibility for treatment is proposed by Stephen Wong, Ph.D. , John S. Dunn Sr. Presidential Distinguished Chair in Biomedical Engineering and professor of computer science and bioengineering in oncology at Houston Methodist. He is proposing a combination of two well-known drugs as a new treatment option for Ewing sarcoma--the chemo drug imatinib and the diabetes drug metformin.
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To read more about this research published in Cancer Letters , click here .
Cancer Letters