;Resize=(1200,627)&impolicy=perceptual&quality=mediumHigh&hash=021aa72a87ebbbd1356319aabdaea372cf26c2c594f15909a9c298ba305fd8d8 "Anti-cancer pill against 70 tumors? Expert puts the brakes on hope")
A drug that can destroy 70 types of tumors? This would be a groundbreaking new therapeutic option for cancer, which is still one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Now the largest cancer research center in the USA, City of Hope, has published a new study that sounds promising. Some even celebrated the findings as the “Holy Grail” and “breakthrough in cancer therapy”.
However, the data are far removed from this, as an expert from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) communicated online at the request of FOCUS. Nikolaus Gunkel is head of the DKFZ working group on drug research and judges: “Basically, great caution is required when using preclinical data to predict the chances of success in the clinic. One reason for this lies in the differences between tumor growth in cell culture or mouse models on the one hand and the growth conditions of a tumor in the patient on the other.” Gunkel therefore does not share the optimism.
On the study of the anti-cancer pill
It is about the drug AOH1996, which was administered to a cancer patient for the first time last year. It targets a specific protein: PCNA, Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen. In its mutated form, it plays an essential role in the proliferation and repair of tumor cells. The drug attacks PCNA and thus inhibits the growth and spread of cancer cells. The good thing about it: The drug is said to be non-toxic to healthy cells.
Gunkel explains: “The authors are pleased to have found a pronounced selectivity for cancer cells, so that normal cells are not affected. The data clearly does not show that.” Apart from that, such a comparison of cancer cells and normal cells is basically not very meaningful because it is absolutely artificial.
Anti-cancer pill ‘AOH1996’ targets protein from cancer cells
“Most targeted therapies focus on a single pathway that allows insidious cancers to mutate and eventually become resistant,” said lead researcher Linda Malkas, professor in the City of Hope’s Department of Molecular Diagnostics and Experimental Therapeutics, who researching the drug in a press release. “PCNA is like a large airline terminal hub with multiple gates. Data suggest that PCNA is modified in cancer cells in a unique way, and this fact allowed us to develop a drug that only targets the form of PCNA in cancer cells,” Malkas continued.
In order to better explain the principle, Malkas used further examples from aviation. AOH1996 is like a “blizzard” that causes an airline’s hub to close and ground all round-trip flights on planes containing cancer cells.
Drug tested in cell and animal models
The recently published results gave a lot of hope. The drug has now been tested in the lab on more than 70 types of cancer and killed cancer cells without interrupting the reproductive cycle of healthy stem cells. It has been shown to be effective in preclinical research to treat breast, prostate, brain, ovarian, cervical, skin and lung cancer cells.
“The results were promising. AOH1996 can suppress tumor growth as a monotherapy or combination treatment in cell and animal models without inducing toxicity,” Malkas continued. It was also shown that AOH1996 simultaneously made cancer cells more susceptible to other chemical agents – such as the drug cisplatin, a chemotherapeutic agent. AOH1996 could also be used in combination therapies and for the development of new chemotherapeutic agents.
No easily treatable cancer found
The DKFZ expert says: “One possible strength of the substance is its ability to be combined with currently used chemotherapeutic agents. Combinations like this make a lot of sense and are also successful.” But the authors did not provide any data as to whether the announced selectivity for cancer cells still persists when the pill is combined with a chemotherapeutic agent.
Gunkel lists other limitations of the study. “The antitumor activity in mouse models is rather moderate, in one model it is downright weak,” explains the drug researcher. In addition, the mouse tumor models used are considered to be particularly inconclusive for clinical reality, so they are only a first approximation.
On closer inspection, 70 become nine types of cancer. “The substance was tested in 70 cell lines representing nine different types of cancer,” explains Gunkel. “This shows a very heterogeneous response to treatment within each cancer type.” Translated into a prediction of clinical efficacy, it means that not all cancer types or patients will respond well. The type of cancer that can be treated particularly well has not yet been found.
German doctor positive about AOH1996
A doctor in this country saw the fact that the drug is actually promising. “With any cancer therapy, it is important to only get the cancer cells and leave the healthy cells alone. That is the great difficulty – both with drugs such as chemotherapy, but also with radiation,” said doctor Christoph Specht in an interview with “RTL”.
“And here with this drug it seems – to put it very carefully – that you can actually hit the multiplication of cancer cells in order to make these cells die, so to speak, but leave the healthy cells healthy and whole in their multiplication,” explained Woodpecker.
The fact that the test series with the drug is not only successful in the test tube, but also in animal cells is also positive. “The pill seems to destroy almost all tumors,” Specht continued.
Anti-cancer pill ‘very likely to fail early’
In the next phase, the drug must be further tested on humans. Only then will it become clear whether the successes that the drug has shown in previous trials can be repeated. Before a drug can be approved, all three clinical study phases must be completed. This usually takes more than ten years.
Gunkel’s less than hopeful conclusion is: “In summary, I have to say that there are still many years of hard work between this preclinical study and use in humans. I find it regrettable that the substance is already being tested in humans, since an active ingredient with potential is very likely to fail at an early stage.”
Nine things you can do to reduce your risk of cancer
Cancer and prevention researchers have known for some time how important it is to take preventative measures. In addition to intensive sport, you have summarized the following measures:
These preventive or preventative measures include:
Avoid being overweight Move every day Eat healthy Don’t smoke Drink as little alcohol as possible Avoid carcinogenic substances Protect from UV radiation Vaccination against cancer (hepatitis B; HPV) Use offers for early cancer detection
Note: The original article was titled New Anti-Cancer Pill Destroys 70 Different Tumors. We have revised it with the assessment of the DKFZ.