Fertility less affected by new chemo drug is good news for Clomid users

Users of fertility drugs such as Clomid often face a tough battle on several fronts when fighting cancer. Not only do they have to fight the disease, they must hope that traditional cancer treatments such as chemotherapy do not harm their fertility any further.

However, a recent breakthrough in chemo treatment has yielded a drug that is less harmful to female fertility than others. Scientists at Northwestern Medicine have successfully integrated nanotechnology into a new drug that is designed to bypass healthy tissue. When encapsulated in a nanobin, traces of active arsenic slip through the blood stream easily until they reach a cancerous tumor. Activated by acidity that is characteristic of tumors, the nanobin releases the arsenic when it comes in contact with the malignancy.

Essentially, a nanobin is a fatty liposome that protects the arsenic and stops it from escaping and hurting healthy cells.

When this approach was used by the scientists to deliver the chemo treatment, they found it helped to prevent damage to ovarian tissue and eggs. Another positive aspect of this sort of delivery is the effectiveness it displayed in destroying cancer cells. 

Scientists found that when tested against lymphoma, the nanobin encapsulated drug was much more effective than the traditional application of the drug. 

A new in vitro test was created by the team in order to measure the toxic nature of the drug in regards to fertility. In fact, it marks the first time that a developing cancer drug has been tested to monitor effects on fertility, according to?.

As cancer drugs become more effective and sophisticated, the survival rate has increased. Although that's a positive development, it tasked scientists with the challenge of maintaining fertility in women. 

Once approved and on the market, this drug could help improve the chances of reproduction for women who desire a family after they've beaten cancer.