STAT+: Scientists unshelve a decades-old antibiotic to fight a new foe — ovarian cancer
Ovarian cancer, which kills about 15,000 Americans every year, has historically been one of the thornier cancers to treat. Only in the last few years has a new class of potent drugs, called PARP inhibitors, started to change that. But even with these promising new treatments, too often, tenacious tumors come roaring back. So there’s a need for yet newer drugs that can overcome any resistance the cancer evolves.
According to research published Thursday, scientists might have found one. And it’s not actually a new drug at all. In fact, it’s been sitting, retired, in a drug library for decades.
