Intraconazole against bowel cancer
Researchers at the University of Cambridge have found that the antifungal drug intraconazole destroys dormant cells of tumors of the digestive tract.
According to Professor Greg Hannon, director of the Cambridge Institute of Cancer Research, the presence of treatment-resistant resting cells is a problem for many types of malignant tumors. Such "dormant" cells are resistant to pharmacological drugs, including chemotherapy, selectively destroying actively growing and dividing cells. Therefore, some time after the successful, at first glance, completion of therapy, some of these cells may become activated and form a new, less treatable tumor.
The authors were able to identify two key signaling mechanisms that ensure the resting state of tumor cells, namely mechanisms mediated by the Wnt and hedgehog proteins. After that, they tested various compounds affecting these signaling mechanisms on miniature models of malignant neoplasms of the digestive tract grown from mouse tumor cells. The researchers' special attention was attracted by the drug intraconazole, widely used for the treatment of fungal infections of the nail plate.
Currently, several clinical studies are being conducted evaluating the effectiveness of itraconazole in the treatment of lung cancer, esophageal cancer and basal cell carcinoma. Animal efficacy testing is being conducted for a number of other forms of cancer.
In this study, exposure to itraconazole led to the destruction of tumor spheroids and the death of resting cells.
Subsequent experiments on mice showed that in the conditions of the body, this drug also leads to the death of resting cells and the cessation of tumor growth. The authors note that the fact that intraconazole converts resting cells into an active state is particularly interesting. At the same time, they first enter a short growth cycle, after which an irreversible process of physiological aging is started, after which the cell loses its ability to divide.
The next stage of the work will be a clinical trial of intraconazole as an antitumor drug. The researchers hope to include patients with severe forms of bowel cancer in the study. They also plan to study the effectiveness of the drug in combination with other therapeutic approaches, including chemotherapy.
Article by Simon J.A. Buczacki et al. Itraconazole targets cell cycle heterogenicity in colorectal cancer published in The Journal of Experimental Medicine.
Evgenia Ryabtseva, portal "Eternal Youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru based on Cancer Research UK: Antifungal drug eliminates sleeping bowel cancer cells in mice.