“`html

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⁢ fast switch ⁣so we can better…