Chinese scientist found a way to treat leukemia without chemotherapy

Beijing. February 7. Silkroadnews - A Chinese scientist together with his French colleagues has found a way to treat leukemia without chemotherapy, Ecns.cn agency reports.
“China's cancer researcher Zhu Chen won The Sjoberg Prize 2018, together with French researchers Anne Dejean and Hugues de The, for the unique treatment that cures a once fatal cancer, announced The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. According to a statement from The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the prize was awarded to them “for the clarification of molecular mechanisms and the development of a revolutionary treatment for acute promyelocytic leukaemia””, the report said.
The laureates are reported to have developed a new and targeted treatment for a specific form of blood cancer called acute promyelocytic leukemia, which is one of the deadliest oncological diseases. However, nine out of ten patients can now be cured.
Treatment is unique, as it is the first standard treatment for acute leukemia, which does not include chemotherapy. Instead, a combined therapy is used, which consists of a form of vitamin A, ATRA and arsenic trioxide.
The idea of using arsenic comes from traditional medicine, but this method has been scientifically tested and proven. The laureates made this revolutionary discovery possible by methodically comparing the molecular mechanisms responsible for the disease.
Having identified a specific genetic mutation and helping to destroy the defective protein in specific cells, it was possible to stop the process that resulted in death for three out of four patients. This means that cancer cells disappear, because they lose the ability to renew themselves.
Studies have been conducted since the 1980s, and the effect of treatment has been confirmed in numerous scientific studies. In many countries, such treatment is already being used to help patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia.
It is reported that at present, Zhu Chen is investigating genetic and molecular changes in other forms of leukemia.
Zhu Chen, born in 1953 in China, is now a professor at the prestigious Shanghai Jiao Tong University. Anne Dejean, born in 1957 in France, is a professor at the Pasteur Institute, France. Hugues de The, born in 1959 in France, is a professor at College de France, France.
The prize is awarded by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and is funded by the Sjoberg Foundation. The fund, with a donation of two billion Swedish krona (about $2.5 billion), was founded in 2016 and serves to promote research that focuses on cancer, health and the environment.
The prize is an annual international award in the field of cancer research, awarded to individual researchers or research groups. It amounts to one million US dollars, of which $100,000 is the prize amount, and $900,000 is a funding for future research.