Drug Compound That Kills Cancer Stem Cells Identified (Update2)
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid= ... CyVkyA3AIA
By Rob Waters
Aug. 13 (Bloomberg) -- A drug that can selectively target and kill the stem cells that drive the growth of tumors has been identified for the first time by scientists who searched more than 16,000 compounds to find it.
Researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Broad Institute looked for compounds that could destroy the stem cells, which often resist conventional cancer treatment. One, salinomycin, cut the number of stem cells at least 100 times more than did Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.’s Taxol, a common chemotherapy medicine, according to a report on the findings published today in the journal Cell.
The researchers will conduct further testing of salinomycin in animals to assess its potential to treat humans, said Piyush Gupta, a researcher at the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Broad Institute and co-author of the study. While the outcome of that research is unknown, he said, the work has strengthened a theory that stem cells fuel cancer and may have created a way to find effective drugs.
“We now have a method that researchers anywhere in the world can use to find agents that can kill cancer stem cells and potentially treat cancer,” Gupta said today in a telephone interview.
Stem cells appear to fuel the growth of several kinds of cancer including breast, lung and brain tumors, according to studies done in recent years. The cells are resistant to standard cancer therapy, so finding a way to thwart them is important, said Judy Lieberman, a professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School who researches cancer stem cells.
‘These Are the Cells’
“These are the cells that are the important cells and if you don’t eliminate them, the tumors can grow back and recur,” Lieberman said today in a telephone interview. “Any way you can figure out to specifically target the cancer stem cells is going to fill an important gap in the therapies we have at hand.”
Lieberman wasn’t involved in the report published today.
Scientists at universities and biotechnology companies including Infinity Pharmaceuticals Inc. of Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Australia’s ChemGenex Pharmaceuticals Ltd. are working to develop treatments to block the stem cells. Findings released in 2007 showed that one marketed anti-cancer drug, GlaxoSmithKline’s Tykerb, reduced the number of cancer stem cells and helped eliminate the disease in some breast cancer patients.
Tumor-Initiating Cells
Research by Jenny Chang at the Baylor College of Medicine has shown that after breast-cancer patients received chemotherapy and hormone treatments, the remaining tumors had a greater percentage of malignancy-initiating cells, the cancer stem cells, than before.
The researchers at MIT and Broad grew cancer cells from breast tumors in a way that increased the number of stem cells. They then used rapid screening techniques to test 16,000 commercially available chemical compounds. They identified 32 candidates before settling on salinomycin as the most potent.
They also tested the compound in mice in two ways. First, they exposed breast cancer stem cells in laboratory dishes to salinomycin and Taxol and tallied how many cells they would need to inject in a mouse to trigger a tumor. It took many more of the salinomycin-treated cells to spur cancer, showing that the compound was inhibiting cancer development, Gupta said.
Second, they induced tumors in mice and treated them with the two drugs. While both drugs exerted “significant anti-tumor effects,” the mice treated with Taxol had a greater proportion of cancer stem cells left in the remaining tumor. Taxol enriched the population of cancer stem cells and salinomycin reduced it, Gupta said.
“We have now a systematic way to look for compounds that selectively kill cancer stem cells,” Gupta said. “We’ve taken a lot of the serendipity out of the equation.”
The research was funded partly by the National Cancer Institute.
Drug Compound That Kills Cancer Stem Cells Identified
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Drug Compound That Kills Cancer Stem Cells Identified
by Lit » Fri Aug 14, 2009 6:37 pm
- Lit
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by Lit » Fri Aug 14, 2009 6:42 pm
Drug 'attacks cancer stem cells'
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8201376.stm
A compound that appears to target the master cells which help breast cancers grow and spread has been discovered by US scientists.
In tests in mice, salinomycin killed breast cancer stem cells far more effectively than some existing drugs, and slowed tumour growth.
The drug, a farm antibiotic, has yet to be tested in humans, the journal Cell reports.
But UK experts warned a human version could be some years away.
This is one of the biggest advances we have seen this year in this area of research
Dr John Stingl
Cancer Research UK Cambridge Research Institute
The reasons why, even following powerful chemotherapy, some cancers can grow back, are not fully understood.
Many scientists believe a key role lies with stem cells, which can be resistant to conventional chemotherapy, remaining to 'seed' new tumours and drive their growth.
The drug's potential was identified by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who tested 16,000 existing chemical compounds against breast cancer stem cells in the laboratory.
Those which performed the best were then 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 treated cells were much less likely to start new tumours when injected into mice.
When given to mice with tumours, the growth of the cancer slowed.
However, the 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 tumour only to see it regrow," said Professor Eric Lander, from MIT."This raises the prospect of new kinds of anti-cancer therapies."
'Very early research'
Dr John Stingl, group leader in mammary stem cell biology at Cancer Research UK's Cambridge Research Institute, said: "This is one of the biggest advances we have seen this year in this area of research. These scientists have demonstrated that it's possible to selectively target the rare cancer stem cells that drive tumour growth.
"This research also introduces a completely new way of identifying cancer drugs. The challenge for the future is to bring this class of drugs to the clinic and to identify the patients that are likely to respond to them."
Dr Alexis Willett, head of policy at Breakthrough Breast Cancer, added: "There is evidence that stem cells may enable breast cancers to form and grow.
"This research provides a clue as how to identify these cells and how they might be targeted and destroyed. "It's important to remember that this is very early research and it will be some time before it is clear whether this leads to an effective breast cancer treatment."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8201376.stm
A compound that appears to target the master cells which help breast cancers grow and spread has been discovered by US scientists.
In tests in mice, salinomycin killed breast cancer stem cells far more effectively than some existing drugs, and slowed tumour growth.
The drug, a farm antibiotic, has yet to be tested in humans, the journal Cell reports.
But UK experts warned a human version could be some years away.
This is one of the biggest advances we have seen this year in this area of research
Dr John Stingl
Cancer Research UK Cambridge Research Institute
The reasons why, even following powerful chemotherapy, some cancers can grow back, are not fully understood.
Many scientists believe a key role lies with stem cells, which can be resistant to conventional chemotherapy, remaining to 'seed' new tumours and drive their growth.
The drug's potential was identified by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who tested 16,000 existing chemical compounds against breast cancer stem cells in the laboratory.
Those which performed the best were then 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 treated cells were much less likely to start new tumours when injected into mice.
When given to mice with tumours, the growth of the cancer slowed.
However, the 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 tumour only to see it regrow," said Professor Eric Lander, from MIT."This raises the prospect of new kinds of anti-cancer therapies."
'Very early research'
Dr John Stingl, group leader in mammary stem cell biology at Cancer Research UK's Cambridge Research Institute, said: "This is one of the biggest advances we have seen this year in this area of research. These scientists have demonstrated that it's possible to selectively target the rare cancer stem cells that drive tumour growth.
"This research also introduces a completely new way of identifying cancer drugs. The challenge for the future is to bring this class of drugs to the clinic and to identify the patients that are likely to respond to them."
Dr Alexis Willett, head of policy at Breakthrough Breast Cancer, added: "There is evidence that stem cells may enable breast cancers to form and grow.
"This research provides a clue as how to identify these cells and how they might be targeted and destroyed. "It's important to remember that this is very early research and it will be some time before it is clear whether this leads to an effective breast cancer treatment."
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by Lit » Fri Aug 14, 2009 6:43 pm
http://www.theage.com.au/world/new-drug ... -el6f.html
New drug kills cancer
August 15, 2009
Scientists have identified a drug that can selectively target and kill the stem cells that drive the growth of tumours.
Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Broad Institute searched more than 16,000 compounds looking for those that could kill the stem cells, which often resist conventional cancer treatment. One, salinomycin, cut the number of stem cells 100 times more than did a common chemotherapy medicine, according to a report in the journal Cell.
New drug kills cancer
August 15, 2009
Scientists have identified a drug that can selectively target and kill the stem cells that drive the growth of tumours.
Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Broad Institute searched more than 16,000 compounds looking for those that could kill the stem cells, which often resist conventional cancer treatment. One, salinomycin, cut the number of stem cells 100 times more than did a common chemotherapy medicine, according to a report in the journal Cell.
- Lit
- Regular Contributor
- Posts: 2293
- Joined: Tue Mar 24, 2009 6:32 am
- Location: Right behind ya
by Lit » Fri Aug 14, 2009 6:45 pm
http://wellness.blogs.time.com/2009/08/ ... tem-cells/
New drugs could target cancer stem cells
Posted by Laura Blue Friday, August 14, 2009 at 9:54 am
Boston-area researchers have developed a new technique to identify chemicals that kill cancer stem cells — the part of a cancer that drives tumor growth. A common problem with current chemotherapy treatments is that they knock back a cancer successfully, only for the tumor to re-grow later because, it seems, the all-important stem cells have survived.
The Boston researchers demonstrated their new technique, a chemical screen that they describe in the journal Cell, and picked out a farm antibiotic called salinomycin, which they found to be especially toxic to the stem cells of breast cancer. According to the research paper, salinomycin can cut the proportion of breast cancer stem cells more than 100 times more effectively than the common breast cancer drug, paclitaxel — at least in test tubes. Mice treated with salinomycin also showed slower tumor growth.
But the drug salinomycin has never been tested as a cancer agent in humans, so don't expect that particular drug to be available from your oncologist any time soon. Clinical trials can take years to complete, and there may be safety concerns about salinomycin following occasional adverse effects in sheep and horses. The best news about this new research is that it includes a technique for finding several compounds, like this one for breast cancer, that could target the centers of tumor growth rather than than the tumors as a whole.
New drugs could target cancer stem cells
Posted by Laura Blue Friday, August 14, 2009 at 9:54 am
Boston-area researchers have developed a new technique to identify chemicals that kill cancer stem cells — the part of a cancer that drives tumor growth. A common problem with current chemotherapy treatments is that they knock back a cancer successfully, only for the tumor to re-grow later because, it seems, the all-important stem cells have survived.
The Boston researchers demonstrated their new technique, a chemical screen that they describe in the journal Cell, and picked out a farm antibiotic called salinomycin, which they found to be especially toxic to the stem cells of breast cancer. According to the research paper, salinomycin can cut the proportion of breast cancer stem cells more than 100 times more effectively than the common breast cancer drug, paclitaxel — at least in test tubes. Mice treated with salinomycin also showed slower tumor growth.
But the drug salinomycin has never been tested as a cancer agent in humans, so don't expect that particular drug to be available from your oncologist any time soon. Clinical trials can take years to complete, and there may be safety concerns about salinomycin following occasional adverse effects in sheep and horses. The best news about this new research is that it includes a technique for finding several compounds, like this one for breast cancer, that could target the centers of tumor growth rather than than the tumors as a whole.
- Lit
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- Posts: 2293
- Joined: Tue Mar 24, 2009 6:32 am
- Location: Right behind ya
by Lit » Fri Aug 14, 2009 6:45 pm
CANCER: THE END?
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-storie ... -21595742/
By Mike Swain 14/08/2009
Docs find wonder drug that targets 'invincible' cells
Cancer could be wiped out after scientists found a drug that kills the deadly stem cells which drive the growth of tumours.
In what has been hailed as one of the most significant breakthroughs in the fight against the disease, researchers have identified a chemical that targets the so-called "mother cells" and selectively kills them.
Previously it was thought these stem cells were invincible, resisting both radiation and chemotherapy treatments.
Piyush Gupta, of the Broad Institute, Boston, said: "It wasn't clear it would be possible to find compounds that selectively kill cancer stem cells. We've shown it can be done."
The revolutionary treatment could be used as a second line of attack with conventional cancer drugs to stop tumours growing back.
Many solid tumour cancers, including breast, prostate, bowel and lung, are thought to be driven and renewed by mother cells.
Like the mother in the Alien films, cancer stem cells are elusive and hard to defeat. And just as killing the mother Alien eradicated the threat of her offspring, scientists believe tackling tumour stem cells with the new chemical salinomycin could destroy a cancer's source.
Advertisement - article continues below »
Injected into mice with breast cancer, it also slowed the growth of the animal's tumours.
Stem cells treated with the drug were less able to seed new tumours than cells treated with the powerful chemotherapy agent Taxol.
The researchers believe dozens of other drugs with similar properties could be discovered over the next few years.
But it may be a decade before such compounds are ready for humans. One possibility is using the drugs to mop up cancer stem cells left behind by traditional treatment.
How the drug acts against cancer stem cells is unclear. Dr Gupta added: "Our work reveals the biological effects of targeting cancer stem cells. It suggests a general approach to finding anti-cancer therapies that can be applied to any solid tumour maintained by cancer stem cells."
100 times
Rate at which salinomycin is more effective at killing stem cells than chemo agent Taxol
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-storie ... -21595742/
By Mike Swain 14/08/2009
Docs find wonder drug that targets 'invincible' cells
Cancer could be wiped out after scientists found a drug that kills the deadly stem cells which drive the growth of tumours.
In what has been hailed as one of the most significant breakthroughs in the fight against the disease, researchers have identified a chemical that targets the so-called "mother cells" and selectively kills them.
Previously it was thought these stem cells were invincible, resisting both radiation and chemotherapy treatments.
Piyush Gupta, of the Broad Institute, Boston, said: "It wasn't clear it would be possible to find compounds that selectively kill cancer stem cells. We've shown it can be done."
The revolutionary treatment could be used as a second line of attack with conventional cancer drugs to stop tumours growing back.
Many solid tumour cancers, including breast, prostate, bowel and lung, are thought to be driven and renewed by mother cells.
Like the mother in the Alien films, cancer stem cells are elusive and hard to defeat. And just as killing the mother Alien eradicated the threat of her offspring, scientists believe tackling tumour stem cells with the new chemical salinomycin could destroy a cancer's source.
Advertisement - article continues below »
Injected into mice with breast cancer, it also slowed the growth of the animal's tumours.
Stem cells treated with the drug were less able to seed new tumours than cells treated with the powerful chemotherapy agent Taxol.
The researchers believe dozens of other drugs with similar properties could be discovered over the next few years.
But it may be a decade before such compounds are ready for humans. One possibility is using the drugs to mop up cancer stem cells left behind by traditional treatment.
How the drug acts against cancer stem cells is unclear. Dr Gupta added: "Our work reveals the biological effects of targeting cancer stem cells. It suggests a general approach to finding anti-cancer therapies that can be applied to any solid tumour maintained by cancer stem cells."
100 times
Rate at which salinomycin is more effective at killing stem cells than chemo agent Taxol
- Lit
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- Posts: 2293
- Joined: Tue Mar 24, 2009 6:32 am
- Location: Right behind ya
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