Oxygen-Reactive Glucose Analogs (ORGAs): A Universal Cure for Hypoxic Solid Tumors
I’ve previously written about the possibility of improving upon glucose analogs for cancer treatment, a cure pathway that I believe is dramatically underfunded. I had considered the possibility of relying upon a type of osmotic effect to propel greater concentrations of the glucose analog into the tumor tissue, however, the effectiveness of relying upon such an effect would be marginal.
That said, I still believe that exploiting weaknesses common to most tumors that carries with it a minimum of side-effects (meaning no use of poisons, no receptor or gene-specific treatments) would be the safest and most economical treatment for cancer. Solid tumors, currently considered the most difficult to eradicate, have two traits in common with one another without regard to the genetic makeup of the tumors: 1.) An inefficient process of glycolysis (The Warburg Effect) and 2.) Hypoxia, particularly in the core region. A novel treatment aimed at exploiting both of these common traits has real potential to form the basis for a cure for most types of cancer.
Rather than using a molecule that avoids oxygen, I propose binding a molecule that reacts with oxygen within red blood cells to a glucose analog. Should we tailor a molecule capable of eliminating itself when it interacts with oxygen (it would also need to be able to permissively enter red blood cells, which should be within our technical capabilities) we could introduce glucose analogs into the body, ultimately in such large doses that tumor tissue could be starved of the ability to produce ATP, leading to apoptosis.
I’ve previously written about the possibility of improving upon glucose analogs for cancer treatment, a cure pathway that I believe is dramatically underfunded. I had considered the possibility of relying upon a type of osmotic effect to propel greater concentrations of the glucose analog into the tumor tissue, however, the effectiveness of relying upon such an effect would be marginal.
That said, I still believe that exploiting weaknesses common to most tumors that carries with it a minimum of side-effects (meaning no use of poisons, no receptor or gene-specific treatments) would be the safest and most economical treatment for cancer. Solid tumors, currently considered the most difficult to eradicate, have two traits in common with one another without regard to the genetic makeup of the tumors: 1.) An inefficient process of glycolysis (The Warburg Effect) and 2.) Hypoxia, particularly in the core region. A novel treatment aimed at exploiting both of these common traits has real potential to form the basis for a cure for most types of cancer.
Rather than using a molecule that avoids oxygen, I propose binding a molecule that reacts with oxygen within red blood cells to a glucose analog. Should we tailor a molecule capable of eliminating itself when it interacts with oxygen (it would also need to be able to permissively enter red blood cells, which should be within our technical capabilities) we could introduce glucose analogs into the body, ultimately in such large doses that tumor tissue could be starved of the ability to produce ATP, leading to apoptosis.
