Pancreatic cancer is the third leading cause of cancer death and the 5-year survival rate is estimated at 7%. According to this study conducted at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center (Los Angeles), the Metavert, a recently developed drug candidate would be well able to block the development of the most common type of pancreatic cancer from growing and spreading. The demonstration provided in mice, and in the journal Gastroenterology, also reveals the candidate's ability to prevent the development of resistance in the tumor to the chemotherapies currently used in the treatment of this cancer.
The authors, including Dr. Mouad Edderkaoui, professor of medicine and biomedical sciences at the Samuel Oschin Cancer Institute, speak of an “exciting step towards improving survival rates in patients with pancreatic cancer.” ". Because if these results were confirmed in humans, this drug could significantly increase the survival of patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. This cancer can be difficult to treat because the cancer cells induce normal cells that reside in the pancreas to produce scar tissue that makes it difficult for chemotherapy drugs and blood to enter the pancreas. This interaction between cancer cells and stellate cells creates an environment that stimulates tumor growth and the spread of cancer to distant sites in the body. Finally, the activity levels of certain enzymes increase, promoting resistance to cancer treatments.
Metavert blocks resistance to treatments: for 4 years, researchers have tried to design and synthesize new chemical compounds capable of inhibiting the activity of cancer cells. Thus, they were able to develop Metavert which blocks - at this stage in the mouse model - drug resistance and significantly increases the effectiveness of radiotherapy and 2 chemotherapy drugs, commonly used in humans. In one of the mouse studies, Metavert increased the survival rate by 50%.
The version of the drug to be tested in humans is under development.
