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CREIGHTON SCIENTISTS AND HUNGARIAN PARTNERS DEVELOP PROMISING COMPOUNDS FOR BREAST AND PROSTATE CANCERS
For Immediate Release, March 31, 1999
OMAHA, Neb. -- Creighton University scientists are part of a team that has developed a possible therapy for breast and prostate cancer.
Tested in mice, the peptide-based drug kills breast cancer cells in tumors. The drug also kills other cancer cells, such as prostate cancer, in culture. The drug is a combination of a reproductive hormone called GnRH-III and a polymer that protects it as it travels though the bloodstream to the cancer site.
Study results were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science this month. Research showed that the compound specifically killed cancer cells rather than just halting their growth, and that it acted directly upon the tumor rather than interacting with the pituitary gland to disrupt production of other hormones.
"The specificity for the cancer cells is a highly desirable feature of the compound," said Richard F. Murphy, Ph.D., chair of Creighton's Department of Biomedical Sciences and one of the investigators on the international team. "Also, the finding that the polymer itself, once brought into the cancer cells by the hormone, is toxic inside and kills the cells, is a further significant advantage. The compound gains entry to the cancer cells by binding to hormone receptors on the surface and being carried through the membrane. Thus the drug has the combined anticancer effects of hormone and polymer."
Linking the peptide hormone to the polymer protects the peptide from being destroyed by enzymes as it travels through the bloodstream to the tumor. "This design feature leads us to expect promising results when the drug is tested in humans," said Murphy. "We're looking for commercial partners to develop this drug technology further."
Creighton researchers worked with scientists at the National Institute of Oncology and Semmelweis University in Budapest, Hungary. The Hungarian team tested GnRH-III and found it to be more active than any other substance in suppressing growth of breast cancer cells. The hormone then was coupled with a polymer which previously had been used to carry cytotoxic drugs.
"This compound performs much better in the laboratory than its nearest rival," Murphy said. "We hope it will be developed into a treatment that could be used in combination with other drugs, radiation and immunotherapy."
Future studies will expand upon the animal studies to optimize dosages and formulations. There also will be further studies to measure the distribution of the drug throughout the body, and so far no toxic side effects have been revealed.
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