Potential cancer treatment

http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-thioridazine-cancer-stem-cells-human.html

"A team of scientists at McMaster University has discovered a drug, thioridazine, successfully kills cancer stem cells in the human while avoiding the toxic side-effects of conventional cancer treatments."

Thioridazine is currently prescribed for schizophrenia and carries a bagful of nasty side effects with it at prescribed dosage levels, so it's not a get-out-of-jail-free card.

Originally posted by Kewpie
http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-thioridazine-cancer-stem-cells-human.html

"A team of scientists at McMaster University has discovered a drug, thioridazine, successfully kills cancer stem cells in the human while avoiding the toxic side-effects of conventional cancer treatments."

Thioridazine is currently prescribed for schizophrenia and carries a ...[text shortened]... ty side effects with it at prescribed dosage levels, so it's not a get-out-of-jail-free card.

It may have effects on cancer at lower levels than that prescribed for mental problems. That said, the fact that that drug seems to have effects on cancer cells is a signpost that suggests, assuming they know about the side effects, to search or invent new drugs that has the same effect on cancer cells but without the side effects of the mental side.

Remember, the way these drugs are evaluated, double blind tests and all that, years go by before a new drug is pronounced fit for a certain application.

In the course of those tests, side effects will be uncovered.

But I think it likely, since it is not an orphan drug, that a lot of work will be done to find a drug based on the old one with the same effect on cancer but less side effects.