BOSTON, Mass. (September 14, 2009) -- In a one-two punch, a familiar diabetes drug reduced tumors faster and prolonged remission in mice longer than chemotherapy alone, apparently by targeting cancer stem cells, report Harvard Medical School researchers in the Sept. 14 advance online Cancer Research.
"We have found a compound selective for cancer stem cells," said senior author Kevin Struhl, the David Wesley Gaiser professor of biological chemistry and molecular pharmacology at HMS. "What's different is that ours is a first-line diabetes drug."
The findings add to a growing body of preliminary evidence in cells, mice, and people that metformin may improve breast cancer outcomes in people. In this study, the diabetes drug seemed to work independently of its ability to improve insulin sensitivity and lower blood sugar and insulin levels, all of which are also associated with better breast cancer outcomes.
The results fit within the cancer stem cell hypothesis, an intensely studied idea that a small subset of cancer cells has a special power to initiate tumors, fuel tumor growth, and promote recurrence of cancer. Cancer stem cells appear to resist conventional chemotherapies, which kill the bulk of the tumor.
"There is a big desire to find drugs specific to cancer stem cells," Struhl says. "The cancer stem cell hypothesis says you cannot cure cancer unless you also get rid of the cancer stem cells. From a purely practical point of view, this could be tested in humans. It's already used as a first-line diabetes drug."
The possible usefulness of a diabetes drug against cancer lends credence to an emerging idea that, in the vast and complex alphabet soup of molecular interactions within cells, relatively few biological pathways will turn out to be most important for many different diseases, Struhl suggested.
In experiments led by postdoctoral fellows Heather Hirsch and Dimitrios Iliopoulos, the combinatio
'/>"/>
| Contact: Carol Cruzan Morton carol_morton@hms.harvard.edu 617-432-3121 Harvard Medical School Source:Eurekalert |
Related biology news :
1. Scientists show that mitochondrial DNA variants are linked to risk factors for type 2 diabetes
2. Gender, coupled with diabetes, affects vascular disease development
3. Breakthrough research identifies how cells from pigs may cure diabetes
4. Botched production of insulin molecule may lead to diabetes
5. Joslin researchers uncover potential role of leptin in diabetes
6. Insulins brain impact links drugs and diabetes
7. Exercise improves thinking, reduces diabetes risk in overweight children
8. UVa Health System team uncovers genes role in type 1 diabetes
9. Childrens Hospital studying drug with the potential to prevent/delay onset of type 1 diabetes
10. JDRF awards University of Copenhagen professor with grant to conduct innovative diabetes research
11. Cancer and arthritis therapy may be promising treatment for diabetes
| Copyright © 2003-2012 Bio-Medicine. All rights reserved. ABOUT | CONTACT US | DISCLAIMER | PRIVACY POLICY | TERMS AND CONDITIONS |  |