Tapeworm drug inhibits colon cancer metastasis

First results in mice — clinical trials planned

A compound that for about 60 years has been used as a drug against tapeworm infection is also apparently effective against colon cancer metastasis, as studies using mice have now shown. The compound silences a gene that triggers the formation of metastases in colon cancer. Professor Ulrike Stein (Experimental and Clinical Research Center, a joint cooperation between the Charité Medical Faculty and the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, (MDC)) and her research group made this discovery in collaboration with Professor Robert H. Shoemaker of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in Frederick, Maryland, USA (Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Vol. 103, No. 12, June 17, 2011)*. Plans are already underway with Professor Peter M. Schlag (Charité Comprehensive Cancer Center) to conduct a clinical trial.

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A potential novel drug-target for colorectal cancer treatment comes from the brain

Brain-derived protein in colorectal cancer

Porto Alegre, Brazil- Tumor progression is usually ensured by more than one proliferative mechanism. When one of these is shut down by a specifically targeted drug, other mechanisms may emerge. While these events may lead to treatment failure, they may also become an opportunity for researchers to identify novel targets to be further explored. In a paper recently published in the journal Oncology (”BDNF/TrkB content and interaction with gastrin-releasing peptide receptor blockade in colorectal cancer,” Vol. 79, pages 430�, 2011; DOI: 10.1159/000326564) Roesler and colleagues describe a novel potential drug-target in colorectal cancer.

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New class of cancer drugs could work in colon cancers with genetic mutation, U-M study finds

15 percent of colorectal cancers have mutation that responds to PARP inhibitors

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — A class of drugs that shows promise in breast and ovarian cancers with BRCA gene mutations could potentially benefit colorectal cancer patients with a different genetic mutation, a new study from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center finds.

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Attacking bowel cancer on 2 fronts

Stem cells in the intestine, which when they mutate can lead to bowel cancers, might also be grown into transplant tissues to combat the effects of those same cancers, the UK National Stem Cell Network (UKNSCN) annual science meeting will hear today.

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Potential new medicines show promise for treating colon cancer, asthma

ANAHEIM, March 28, 2011 — In what they described as the opening of a new era in the development of potentially life-saving new drugs, scientists today reported discovery of a way to tone down an overactive gene involved in colon cancer and block a key protein involved in asthma attacks. Those targets long had ranked among hundreds of thousands that many scientists considered to be “undruggable,” meaning that efforts to reach them with conventional medicines were doomed to fail.

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University of Colorado team identifies new colon cancer marker

Aurora, Colo. (March 24, 2011)—A research team at the University of Colorado Cancer Center has identified an enzyme that could be used to diagnose colon cancer earlier. It is possible that this enzyme also could be a key to stopping the cancer.

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New bowel cancer evidence calls for routine DNA repair test

Bowel cancer patients whose tumors contain defects in specific DNA repair systems are much less likely to experience tumour recurrence post surgery, results from a major clinical study have demonstrated.

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New study identifies potential vaccine to prevent gastritis, ulcer disease, gastric cancer

HelicoVax vaccine targets H. pylori

• When delivered intranasally, vaccine was found to be more effective
• Funding will support future clinical trials to test effectiveness in humans

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T-regulatory lymphocytes in gastrointestinal cancer

T-regulatory lymphocytes (Tregs) are a subset of T lymphocytes that are involved in the mechanism of immunotolerance to self- and allo-antigens. Activity of these cells is one of the mechanisms of immune evasion of tumors, which inhibits the antitumor activity of effector cells. Tregs are among the tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes and circulate in the peripheral blood. In various cancer types, increased prevalence of Tregs has been observed, and in some studies, this has been reported as a prognostic factor.

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New path for colon cancer drug discovery

Approved drug identified as inhibitor of Wnt signaling

An old pinworm medicine is a new lead in the search for compounds that block a signaling pathway implicated in colon cancer. The findings, reported by Vanderbilt University Medical Center researchers in the November issue of Nature Chemical Biology, suggest a fresh approach for developing therapeutics that target the pathway.

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