A chemical compound that targets the parent cells which help breast cancers to develop and spread has been discovered by US scientists.
During tests conducted on mice, Salinomycin eliminated breast cancer stem cells far more effectively than some existing drugs, and slowed tumor growth. The drug, a farm antibiotic, has not yet been tested on humans.
Despite the success of Salinomycin in lab mice, some UK experts say that it will be years before we see a human version of the drug yielding the same results. Unfortunately, even after powerful chemotherapy, the reasons why some cancers will grow back are not completely understood at this time.
Many scientists believe the answer lies in stem cells, which are notorious for their resistance to conventional chemotherapy, which stay behind to ’seed’ new tumors and promote their growth.
Salinomycin’s potential for cancer treatment was discovered by a team of researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), after testing 16,000 existing chemical compounds against breast cancer stem cells. The compounds that performed best were later tried in mice and compared to existing drugs such as paclitaxel.
Salinomycin appeared to be 100 times better at killing the cells in a test tube, and when treated cells were given to mice with tumors, the growth of the cancer slowed.
The MIT researchers stressed that “it was too early to know if similar successes could be achieved in human cancer patients.”
“Many therapies kill the bulk of a tumor only to see it regrow,” stated Professor Eric Lander. “This raises the prospect of new kinds of anti-cancer therapies.”
Source:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8201376.stm
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