Tapeworm Drug Inhibits Colon Cancer Metastasis First Results in Mice – Clinical Trials Planned
Colon
cancer is one of the most common tumor diseases in Western countries. In
Germany alone, there are approximated 73 000 new cases of the disease every
year. Despite surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy, only about half of
the affected patients are cured.
The reason
is that around 20 percent of the colon cancer patients already have metastases
at diagnosis and in about one third of the patients, metastasis occurs despite
successful initial treatment. Of these patients with metastatic colon cancer, the
five-year survival rate is only about 10 percent. By contrast, for
nonmetastatic colon cancer patients the survival rate is 90 percent.
Scientists
have known for several years that the gene S100A4/metastasin can initiate colon
cancer metastasis. Five years ago Professor Stein, working together with
Professor Schlag and Professor Walter Birchmeier (MDC), showed how this gene is
regulated. They found that the beta-catenin gene, when mutant, activates this S100A4/metastasin
gene, thus triggering colon cancer metastasis. Beta-catenin normally regulates
cellular adhesion.
The
scientists looked for compounds that block the expression of the metastasin
gene. They screened 1280 compounds and found what they were looking for:
niclosamide, a drug until now approved for use to treat intestinal parasite
infections from tapeworms.
Surprisingly,
the researchers discovered that niclosamide inhibits the beta catenin-driven
expression of the S100A4/metastasin gene, both in the cell culture and in mice.
The animals had fewer metastases. Next, the researchers want to conduct
clinical trials to find out whether the compound is also effective in patients
with metastasizing colon cancer.
*Novel
Effect of Antihelminthic Niclosamide on S100A4-Mediated Metastatic Progression
in Colon Cancer
Ulrike
Sack, Wolfgang Walther, Dominic Scuiero, Mike Selby, Dennis Kobelt, Margit
Lemm, Iduna Fichtner, Peter M. Schlag, Robert H. Shoemaker, Ulrike Stein
Experimental
and Clinical Research Center , Charité University Medicine at the Max
Delbrück-Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin
Barbara
Bachtler
PressDepartment
MaxDelbrückCenter
for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch
in the Helmholtz Association
Robert-Rössle-Straße
10
13125 Berlin, Germany
Phone:
+49 (0) 30 94 06 - 38 96
Fax: +49 (0) 30 94 06 - 38 33
e-mail: presse@mdc-berlin.de
http://www.mdc-berlin.de/
