Breast cancer drug pushes colon cancer cells to their death

June 8, 2011 in Cancer

A new treatment for colon cancer that combines a chemotherapy agent approved to treat breast cancer and a cancer-fighting antibody is ready for clinical trials, according to Penn State College of Medicine researchers.

More than 150,000 cases of colorectal cancer are diagnosed each year, and about 50,000 people die from colorectal cancer yearly. Currently there are limited chemotherapy treatments for colorectal cancer with little that has been in the pipeline in recent years.

Wafik S. El-Deiry, M.D. Ph.D., American Cancer Society Research Professor and Rose Dunlap Professor and chief of hematology/oncology, and his team have tested lapatinib, a targeted currently approved for , in a new combination with artificial antibodies that mimic a natural cancer-fighting protein produced in the human body. The monoclonal antibodies mapatumumab and lexatumumab act similarly to TRAIL -- [TNF]-related apoptosis-inducing ligand -- a naturally occurring molecule in the body that tells a cell it is time to die. TRAIL sets a process in motion that targets and shuts down and keeps them from spreading.

"These are that are manufactured very efficiently, and given to patients," said El-Deiry, who is also the associate director for translational research, Institute.

The TRAIL receptors -- death receptors -- on the respond to TRAIL by dying. The artificial antibodies act as surrogates of TRAIL by activating the same signaling pathway resulting in tumor cell death.

The monoclonal antibodies have an advantage over TRAIL because they remain active in the body for a longer period of time. TRAIL receptor antibodies last for less than 30 minutes, while the artificial last for about nine days. Although the antibodies can act similarly to TRAIL, they do not completely substitute for TRAIL and ultimately which one gets used in what situation is still being tested in clinical trials. But for the purpose of these new advances either one works.

Lapatinib increases the amount of "death receptor" protein available for TRAIL to do its job -- killing off cancerous cells -- El-Deiry and his colleagues report in this week's issue of Science Translational Medicine.

The researchers tested the lapatinib and monoclonal antibody combination in mice. Separately, the two treatments did not increase tumor cell suppression -- but when the drugs were administered together, the researcher found that cell death escalated.

"We have discovered a mechanistic basis for combining these drugs that says one drug upregulates the receptor for the other drug, and maybe now when we combine these two drugs we'll get an even better synergy between them," said El-Deiry. "I think that's probably the most exciting result, to be able to provide a molecular rationale for a new treatment combination for difficult-to-treat advanced colorectal cancers."

The Food and Drug Administration approved lapatinib in 2007 for use as a chemotherapy. It blocks two specific types of proteins located on tumor cell surfaces from causing tumors to grow. These proteins are a potent way that tumors are signaled to grow -- and if the proteins are blocked, there is one less mechanism for tumors to proliferate. However, in the treatment El-Deiry has proposed, lapatinib would be used off-label by increasing a different tumor cell death-inducing protein to help patients.

Provided by Pennsylvania State University search and more info website

5 /5 (2 votes)  

Filter


Move the slider to adjust rank threshold, so that you can hide some of the comments.


Display comments: newest first

Ricochet
Jun 09, 2011

Rank: not rated yet
wow...
What's the best way to disarm a Grammaton Cleric? Ask him for it.

What's the best way to kill a cencer cell? Ask it to die.
Rank 5 /5 (2 votes)
Relevant PhysicsForums posts

More news stories

When oxygen is short, EGFR prevents maturation of cancer-fighting miRNAs

Even while being dragged to its destruction inside a cell, a cancer-promoting growth factor receptor fires away, sending signals that thwart the development of tumor-suppressing microRNAs (miRNAs) before it's dissolved, researchers ...

Cancer created 3 minutes ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Improved chemo regimen for childhood leukemia may offer high survival, no added heart toxicity

Treating pediatric leukemia patients with a liposomal formulation of anthracycline-based chemotherapy at a more intense-than-standard dose during initial treatment may result in high survival rates without causing any added ...

Cancer created 4 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Protein preps cells to survive stress of cancer growth and chemotherapy

Scientists have uncovered a survival mechanism that occurs in breast cells that have just turned premalignant-cells on the cusp between normalcy and cancers-which may lead to new methods of stopping tumors.

Cancer created 4 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Frequent heartburn may predict cancers of the throat and vocal cord

Frequent heartburn was positively associated with cancers of the throat and vocal cord among nonsmokers and nondrinkers, and the use of antacids, but not prescription medications, had a protective effect, according to data ...

Cancer created 5 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Key find for early bladder cancer treatment

Aggressive forms of bladder cancer involve the protein PODXL – a discovery that could hold the key to improved treatment, according to researchers at Lund University, Uppsala University and KTH in Sweden.

Cancer created 7 hours ago | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0


Diabetes' genetic underpinnings can vary based on ethnic background, studies say

Ethnic background plays a surprisingly large role in how diabetes develops on a cellular level, according to two new studies led by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine.

Scientists discover cinnamon compounds' potential ability to prevent Alzheimer's

Cinnamon: Can the red-brown spice with the unmistakable fragrance and variety of uses offer an important benefit? The common baking spice might hold the key to delaying the onset of –– or warding off ...

Study reveals new mechanism for estrogen suppression of liver lipid synthesis

By discovering the new mechanism by which estrogen suppresses lipid synthesis in the liver, UC Irvine endocrinologists have revealed a potential new approach toward treating certain liver diseases.

Flu vaccine also linked to narcolepsy in adults, study reports

Finnish researchers unveiled new data Thursday to link the Pandemrix flu vaccine to a higher risk of the sleeping disorder narcolepsy in adults.

Death rates decline for advanced heart failure patients, but outcomes are still not ideal

UCLA researchers examining outcomes for advanced heart-failure patients over the past two decades have found that, coinciding with the increased availability and use of new therapies, overall mortality has decreased and sudden ...

MRI-based measurement helps predict vascular disease in the brain

Aortic arch pulse wave velocity, a measure of arterial stiffness, is a strong independent predictor of disease of the vessels that supply blood to the brain, according to a new study published in the June issue the journal ...