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Cancer drug made 20K times more potent in breakthrough

By Newsweek  
   November 05, 2025

A common cancer drug has been restructured to make its cancer cell killing abilities up to 20,000 times more effective while also reducing its toxicity. Researchers from the Northwestern University in Illinois re-engineered the structure of the commonly-used chemotherapy drug 5-fluorouracil (5FU) into that of a "spherical nucleic acid" (SNA)—a nanostructure that weaves the drug directly into DNA strands coating tiny spheres. Such makes it far more powerful and targeted—leaving healthy cells unharmed.  

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