Researchers Discover Molecule Effective in Liver Cancer Treatment

Researchers at Near East University, in collaboration with researchers from various universities in Turkey and Northern Cyprus, have identified a new molecule effective in treating liver cancer. Research on the new molecule identified as effective in liver cancer treatment received the "best oral presentation" award at the 8th International Bahçeşehir University Drug Design Congress. Researchers at Near East University DESAM Research Institute, working in collaboration with different universities from Turkey and Northern Cyprus, have identified a new molecule effective in treating liver cancer, one of the most common cancer types, through laboratory research. Researchers who began efficacy studies on the molecule in cell culture lines for in vitro liver cancer cells as well as other cancer types such as colon, breast, and pancreatic cancers shared the initial results of their research with the scientific community at the "8th International Bahçeşehir University Drug Design Congress" held in Istanbul. The results of the research, which included Prof. Dr. H. Seda Vatansever from Near East University DESAM Research Institute, were presented at the congress by Dr. Faika Başoğlu. The presentation, which included Assoc. Prof. Dr. Eda Becer, Hilal Kabadayı Ensarioğlu, Prof. Dr. Nuray Ulusoy Güzeldemirci, and Ebru Didem Coşar, describing the effects of the molecule obtained on liver cancer cells, received the "best oral presentation" award at the congress.

May offer hope for different cancer types

Since liver cancer is a disease with very limited treatment options, the data provided by the newly identified molecule for new drug designs is highly significant. The new molecule, designed based on "Levamisole" and "Triapine" carrying "imidazo[2,1-b]thiazole" and "thiosemicarbazide" structures approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in cancer treatment and expected to have anticancer activity, was synthesized with high efficiency in four stages. In the research, the activity of a total of eight molecules with similar structures was also studied. Researchers who identified the inhibitory effect of the new molecule on liver cancer cells continue laboratory research on new molecules with similar structures. Turkish researchers continue their work to identify new candidate molecules that will guide drugs that can be developed in the treatment of different cancer types such as liver cancer, breast cancer, colon cancer, and brain cancers.