Cancer drug could reduce endometriosis pain

A study has found that endometriosis pain could be managed by a cancer drug.

Researchers from the University of Edinburgh found that dichloroacetate could be used to control the pain that comes with the condition.

”Using dichloroacetate to treat the cells of women with endometriosis lowered the production of lactate,” Stv News reports adding that it also stopped abnormal cell growth.

Endometriosis is caused by lesions or wounds that grow in other parts of the body such as the lining of the pelvis or ovaries but are similar to the tissue that makes the lining of the womb.

The cells on the pelvic linings of women with endometriosis produce a high amount of lactate similar to the amounts produced by cancerous cells.

According to the researchers, using dichloroacetate on the women with the condition returned their cells to normal, also reducing the amount of lactate produced by these cells.

On conducting further tests on a mouse, it was found that the lactate reduced significantly and the size of lesions reduced within a seven day period.

Endometriosis is a condition associated with a lot of pain, in Kenya, media personality Njambi Koikai was very open about her struggle which led her to seek treatment abroad.

Currently, the available endometriosis treatments force those ailing to chose between a rock and a hard place.

They have to chose between hormonal based treatments whose side effects are said to be less than desirable and undergoing surgery to remove lesions with the risk that they would recur again.

This new treatment is now on a clinical trial whose success could mean a lot for women suffering from endometriosis.

Professor Andrew Horne who led the research is looking forward to seeing whether his team’s findings could be replicated in women with positive results.

The Well being of Women charity, one of the financiers for the research, through its head Janet Lindsay was delighted that the treatment would be going into the clinical trial phase, inching closer towards finding a non-hormonal cure for endometriosis.