‘Drug cocktails’ could strengthen targeted cancer therapies

Researchers have identified that certain drugs taken in combination, ‘drug cocktails’, help therapies to target and attack cancer more efficiently. The team from Mount Sinai School of Medicine discovered that side effects lessened when using certain ‘drug cocktails’. The combination of drugs attacks cancer cells from multiple angles, preventing cell growth and proliferation, and cancer’s ability to become resistant to individual drugs. The combinations of drugs tested include chemotherapy, anti-tumor antibiotics, and chemical compounds, and are given at low doses that would not ordinarily give a therapeutic benefit when given individually. However, they strengthen the patient’s response to a separate targeted therapy drug, which blocks enzymes helping the growth of the cancer cells.