Researchers are looking below the surface of the water to help extend the lives of some cancer patients. Scientists at Florida Atlantic University are hunting for sea sponges that produce a beneficial chemical. CCTV’s Nitza Soledad Perez filed this report from Miami in the U.S. state of Florida.
More details:
- Sponges, which are living animals, produce different chemicals. Some of these invertebrates found off the coast of Florida contain compounds that fight pancreatic, breast and ovarian cancer.
- The National Cancer Institute is conducting various research studies. One of them is for a drug called Eribulin. It could be the cure for a common type of bone cancer but time and costs are factors in getting approval.
- Eribulin is already approved to treat late stages of breast cancer. Another sponge derivative drug, Cytarabine, is used for the treatment of leukemia.