(RxWiki News) One of the largest risks of cancer development is metastasis. A new prostate cancer drug in early stages of development has shown the ability to shut down metastasis entirely.
Scientists researching metastasis found the movement proteins involved in cancer cells leaving the prostate, and designed a drug to shut them down.
Important to their research is the finding that the drug does not affect any other tissues, meaning no toxic effects are observed.
"Ask your oncologist about clinical trials available to you."
In research presented to the American Association for Cancer Research's annual meeting, the molecular basis for the experimental drug KBU2046 was explained and results presented showing that the drug was non-toxic.
"This is an extremely promising new therapeutic that locks down aggressive prostate cancer cells so they don't move," said Raymond Bergan, MD, director of experimental therapeutics for the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University.
"The spread of prostate cancer is what kills men. Cancer cells have a switch that tells them to keep moving all the time. This drug turns it off."
Study design included an aggressive line of human prostate cancer cells placed into the prostate tissue of live mice, which were given the drug for five weeks. Backing up the experimental research so far, any metastasis to the lungs was completely prevented for the duration of the study.
Lung metastasis is particularly common in prostate cancer.
While results of this experiment were not definitive, Dr. Bergan plans on further testing of the experimental drug KBU2046 in clinical trials on patients with prostate cancer soon.
Study results presented at conferences are considered preliminary prior to publication in peer-reviewed journals.
Financial conflicts of interest were not disclosed by researchers.