AFCR News

Breakthrough drug co-developed by Hong Kong research team offers hope of longer life to brain cancer sufferers

Wang Jiguang (left), assistant professor at the division of life science, department of chemical and biological engineering, HKUST, and Professor Jiang Tao (right) from Beijing Tiantan Hospital, showing results of the clinical trial. Photo: Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
  • Researchers at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology say the drug, PLB-1001, can stall the effects of rare disease Secondary Glioblastoma
  • The drug showed signs of success in a three-month trial on patients whose cancer was resistant to chemotherapyPolice patrol the area after Sunday’s attacks in Yuen Long. Photo: Winson Wong

Patients diagnosed with a deadly brain cancer may soon see new hope of living longer following a breakthrough by researchers from a university in Hong Kong, the school announced on Monday.

Around 200 Hongkongers are afflicted by brain cancers every year; among them, about 20 are diagnosed with a rare but aggressive type called Secondary Glioblastoma, known as sGMB.

Current treatments for sGMB, including chemotherapy and orally administered drugs, have proven to be ineffective, with a mortality rate of almost 100 per cent.

Now, in a world first, scientists from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) have announced a discovery that a type of gene mutation is the major culprit behind the cancer’s aggressive progression.

Click here to read the full article: https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/2176194/breakthrough-drug-co-developed-hong-kong-research?from=groupmessage&isappinstalled=0