London - British doctors yesterday said they expect to begin human trials of a new cancer drug that cuts off blood supply to tumours ahead of US counterparts who are working on a similar approach.
Dr David Secher, director of drug development for the Cancer Research Campaign, said the charity hopes to test Combretastatin A4 on humans in November.
Combretastatin works by selectively damaging blood vessels that supply the cells with the oxygen and nutrients they need to survive and grow. It "starves" the cancer in a similar way to angiostatin and endostatin, two drugs which attracted worldwide interest this week after tests showed they wiped out tumours in mice.