Researchers have shown for the first time that a skin cancer drug can slow the ageing process and extend a patient’s lifespan by delaying age-related death.
Dr Cathy Slack from the team at University College London spearheading the study, called the findings “a significant step on the way to developing treatments that delay the onset of ageing”.
The drug, called Trametinib, works by limiting the cell growth that causes cancer. It targets the effects of a protein called Ras which is critical as people get older. Scientists believe that by tweaking the drug they can make it safe to administer without patients suffering any potential harmful side effects.
Dr Slack said: “The molecular pathway is the same in humans as it is in flies and because the Ras protein plays a key role in cancer, many small molecule drugs already exist, some of which have been approved for clinical use.
“With support from the pharmaceutical industry, we can refine these molecules over the next 10 to 20 years to develop antiageing treatments which don’t have the adverse effects of cancer drugs. “Identifying the importance of the pathway in animal ageing is a significant step on the way to developing treatments that delay the onset of ageing.”
