Promising experiments: NASA sees ‘insane progress’ in cancer research in space

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As if Joe Biden (81) already suspected it when he named his cancer initiative ‘Moonshot’ in 2016, when he was still vice president of the US: the key to curing cancer could lie in space. According to the American space agency NASA, experiments with the weightlessness of space have led to ‘insane progress’ in the fight against cancer.

Moonshot – the pursuit of the moon – was the slogan with which US President John F. Kennedy (1917–1963) promoted manned American moon missions in the 1960s. Space travel is a “unique place for research,” astronaut Frank Rubio said at an event organized by the cancer initiative of the same name in Washington. During his mission on the International Space Station (ISS), the 48-year-old doctor and former combat helicopter pilot committed himself to cancer research at an altitude of 400 kilometers.

Changed cells in space

Cells age faster in space, which speeds up research, and also have a different structure in weightlessness. “They don’t form clumps like they do under gravity on Earth. They float in space,” explains NASA CEO Bill Nelson. In this way, the molecular structures of the cells could be better analyzed and cancer drugs could be made more effective.

The American pharmaceutical company MSD conducted research on the ISS into its antibody drug Keytruda, which is currently administered intravenously. Since the main ingredient is difficult to liquefy, crystallization could be a solution to simplify therapy. In 2017, MSD conducted experiments to test whether the crystals form faster in space than on Earth.

NASA boss Nelson shows the difference in two images: the first shows a blurry, transparent spot. But on the second a number of clearly visible, light gray dots appear. The photo shows that smaller and more uniform crystals form in space, Nelson says. MSD has reportedly already found ways to recreate the effect of these crystals on Earth.

Cancer is the second most common cause of death

Cancer research in space began more than 40 years ago, but has recently undergone a “revolutionary” development, Nelson says. “We’re using the nature of space to put cancer in its place,” confirms National Cancer Institute Director W. Kimryn Rathmell.

Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the US, after cardiovascular disease. The aim of the ambitious Moonshot program is to halve the death rate from cancer over the next 25 years, saving four million lives.

Not enough money for a breakthrough?

“We all know someone and most of us love someone who has battled this terrible disease,” US Health Secretary Xavier Becerra said at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “And just like the moon voyage, we believe our technology and our scientists have the ability to do the impossible when it comes to conquering cancer as we know it.”

However, political realities could stand in the way of this ambitious goal. The U.S. Congress has approved only more than $25 billion for NASA this year. That is two percent less than last year and considerably less than the White House requested. But W. Kimryn Rathmell still has hope. “Space has a great ability to capture the imagination,” she says. And cancer research in space has the clear goal of ‘saving lives’. (SDA)

Source: Blick