Blocking nerve signals could be an effective treatment for stomach cancer -
The research from Columbia University Medical Center shows that nerves can play a crucial role in the growth of stomach cancer and the nerve block signals using surgery or Botox (onabotulinumtoxinA) may be an effective treatment for the disease. The study was conducted by the laboratory of Timothy C. Wang, MD, in collaboration with Duan Chen, MD, PhD, Norway, and is published in today's issue of Science Translational Medicine .
"scientists have long observed that human cancers and mouse contain a lot of nerves in and around the tumor cells," said Dr. Wang, Dorothy L. and Daniel H. Silberberg Professor of Medicine at Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center of Columbia. "We wanted to better understand the role of nerves in the initiation and growth of cancer, focusing on stomach cancer."
Stomach cancer is the fourth leading type of cancer and the second largest contributor to cancer mortality worldwide, with a survival rate at 5 years less than 25 percent.
using stomach cancer three models of different mouse, the team of Dr. Wang found that when they performed a procedure called a vagotomy to cut the nerves, the operation has significantly slowed tumor growth and increased survival rate. Remove nerve connections from one side of stomach cancer allowed to continue growing on the other side (with intact nerves), providing further evidence of the importance of nerves in tumor growth.
the team Dr. Wang then tried to block the transmission of nerve signals pharmacologically. They found that when they injected mice with Botox, the drug has proven to be as effective as surgery to reduce the growth of stomach cancer. "We found that blocking the nerve signals makes cancer cells more vulnerable, it removes one of the key factors that regulate their growth," said Dr. Wang.
Botox prevents the nerve cells of the release of a neurotransmitter called acetylcholine. In the case of a cosmetic treatment, for example, blocking acetylcholine helps to reduce facial wrinkles by causing temporary paralysis of the muscles. Because acetylcholine also usually stimulates cell division, using Botox to prevent the release of acetylcholine may help slow cancer growth.
Dr. Wang's team also found evidence of the effectiveness of targeting the nerves for the treatment of cancer in human patients when they compared 37 patients who had a recurrence of cancer stomach many years after surgery. Of the 13 patients who underwent vagotomy as part of their procedure in all but one case, the tumors do not grow in areas where nerve connections were broken. In contrast, tumors were found in the same region of the stomach in all 24 patients who had not had a vagotomy.
Next, Dr. Wang's team plans to study the effectiveness of therapy targeted nerve used in combination with other treatments against cancer. The first experiments showed that blocking nerve cells makes them more vulnerable to chemical cancer. Botox® is used in combination with chemotherapy in mice increased the survival rate to 35 percent, compared to chemotherapy alone.
A limitation of current studies is that they focus primarily on the early stages of stomach cancer. "In the future, we would really see how we can use this nerve targeting method to stop the growth of more advanced tumors," said Dr. Wang. His lab hopes to develop drugs that block the neurotransmitter receptors. This approach would be more effective than surgery or Botox on more invasive forms of cancer, these drugs would reach cells capable who have broken with the main tumor.
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