New Drug For Destroying Human Cancer Stem Cells

Editor's Choice Main Category: Cancer / Oncology Article Date: 25 May 2012 - 13:00 PDT

Current ratings for: 'New Drug For Destroying Human Cancer Stem Cells'

3.67 (3 votes)

3 (2 votes)

Mick Bhatia, lead researcher of the study and scientific director of McMaster's Stem Cell and Cancer Research Institute in the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine, said: "The unusual aspect of our finding is the way this human-ready drug actually kills cancer stem cells; by changing them into cells that are non-cancerous."

Findings from the study could pave the way for the development of anticancer drugs in the treatment of various cancers. In addition to thioridazine, the team have identified another 12 drugs that also have good potential for the same response. The study is published in the journal CELL.

Cancer stem cells were first identified in certain types of leukemia by Canadian researchers over a decade ago. Since then they have been identified in ovarian, prostate, lung, brain, breast, blood, and gastrointestinal cancer.

The researchers developed an automated robotic system in order to identify different compounds of several drugs, including thioridazine.

Bhatia explained: "Now we can test thousands of compounds, eventually defining a candidate drug that has little effect on normal stem cells but kills the cells that start the tumor."

The researchers next step is to test thioridazine in clinical trials in patients with acute myeloid leukemia whose cancer has relapsed following chemotherapy. Their goal is to determine whether the drug can put a patients cancer into remission and prevent it from returning by targeting the cancer stem cells.

Read more:
New Drug For Destroying Human Cancer Stem Cells