CANCER OF THE PANCREAS: Metavert's hope against the tumor

 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.

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PANCREATIC CANCER: A compound in wine starves cancer cells

 This compound from the “tropical” vine, identified by chemists at the Julius-Maximilians University of Würzburg, is extremely effective in inhibiting the growth and colonization of pancreatic cancer cells. Data presented in the Journal of Natural Products that are a promising starting point for the development of new anti-cancer drugs.

 

Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest cancers, with a 5-year survival rate of less than 5%. Cancer cells proliferate very aggressively, they deplete nutrients and oxygen in the tumor area. While most cells would die under such extreme conditions, pancreatic cancer cells survive by activating a cell signaling pathway called Akt/mTOR. Many teams are therefore looking for compounds capable of disrupting this pathway. These compounds toxic to cancer cells under these extreme conditions are referred to herein as "anti-austerity" compounds (a term derived from the Greek word "austerotes").

 

Alkaloids from rainforest vines: Unusual alkaloids (natural organic nitrogen-containing compounds) exhibiting this anti-austerity ability have been identified in vineyards in Congo. The German team isolated and characterized the structure of one of these alkaloids, ancistrolikokine E3 from the Ancistrocladus likoko vine. This alkaloid proves to be a promising agent, capable of effectively targeting pancreatic cancer cells in vitro.

 

Ancistrolikokine E3 eliminates and blocks pancreatic cancer cells: the compound, tested in vitro, causes spectacular changes in the morphology of cancer cells and ends up killing them. Additionally, the compound inhibits the migration and colonization of cancer cells suggesting that the compound may also help prevent the formation of metastases in patients. The compound kills cancer cells by inhibiting the Akt/mTOR pathway and the autophagy pathway.

 

This work confirms the potential of this vine compound and other structurally related alkaloids for the development of new anti-cancer drugs based on an anti-austerity strategy.

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