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Salicylic Acid, Common in Skincare, Could‍ Treat ⁤Blood ‌Cancers

Salicylic acid, a commonly used skincare and pain medication ingredient, could now also be used to treat‌ blood cancers, according to new research.

Two millennia after⁢ Hippocrates used willow bark⁤ to ease pain and fever, researchers at the Texas A&M University Health Science Center (Texas A&M Health) have transformed its key ingredient-salicylic acid-into a‍ molecular “remote control” that can turn therapeutic cell functions on or off.

In the new study, Yubin Zhou and Yun Huang‍ with the Texas A&M⁣ Health Institute of Biosciences and Technology used this technology-called Salicylic Acid-Mediated Binary Association (SAMBA)-to combat two common blood cancers:‍ acute lymphoblastic leukemia and B cell ‌lymphoma. Blood cancers account ⁣for‍ approximately 10% of new cancer diagnoses each year.

SAMBA uses⁢ salicylic acid, or aspirin, which is a ​cost-efficient and widely available drug for therapeutic use, making it a promising alternative to‌ more complex or expensive forms of cancer ‍immunotherapy.

Immunotherapy-which ‍uses the body’s​ own ⁢immune system to seek out and kill ⁤cancer cells-has been used as 1891 for bone cancer. But innovations like SAMBA are helping researchers make it safer and more effective.

SAMBA technology works by engineering CAR T cells so their cancer-killing activity can be turned on or off simply by giving or withholding⁤ salicylic acid, ⁢allowing doctors ⁣to precisely​ control when the treatment is active. ⁤In laboratory studies, ⁤SAMBA-equipped ​CAR T cells only destroyed cancer cells when salicylic acid was present. ​Stopping the salicylic acid “switch” caused the immune ​cells to pause their attack, ‍offering a new safety layer over traditional CAR T cell therapy.

“Much like playing‌ with a transformer toy,where you can quickly flip between a car and‍ a robot,we’re trying to ⁢recreate that quick switch so we can​ better…