EXPERIMENT WITH MEDICINES: Karl-Henning Kalland (left), Yi Qu and Xisong Ke have experimented with hundreds of substances on cancer. Photo: Kim E. Andreassen via: UiB
Medicine against parasites like Tapeworms and Giardia, contains a substance that kills Prostate- and colon cancer.
Cancer researchers at the University of Bergen (UiB) have in the recent years experienced with hundreds of known drugs, to see how they influence cancer cells.
Recently they found that a substance in medicine against parasites like Giardia and Tapeworms, acts like tailored medicine against prostate- and colon cancer.
“We discovered that this specific substance is blocking the signalling pathway in the cancer cells, and make them stop growing. It is not often that researchers discover a substance that targets specific molecules as precisely as this one, ” says Professor Karl-Henning Kalland at the Department of Clinical Science, at UiB. He is the leader of the Kalland´s Research Group.
The study is published in Nature Chemical Biology.
Hyperactive cells
The researchers Yi Qu and Xisong Ke at Kalland team saw that the cells in prostate- and colon cancer contain high amounts of activated Beta-catenin. Activation of this protein makes the cells go amok and divides at high tempo. In addition, Beta-catenin makes the cancer cells more resistant and more able for survival.
In the study, Qu and Ke discovered that it was the substance NTZ (nitazoxanide), a well known and approved anti-parasite drug, that decompose the activated Beta-catenin.
“We are the first researchers who have mapped the complex molecular mechanisms involved in this process,” Kalland says.
Recycling old medicines
Experiments with well-known drugs show that a medicine may have different and unknown targets in the cells.
“The advantage of testing already approved drugs, is that we know they work in the human body and have no serious side effects, which means that a future treatment may happen quicker,” Kalland explains.
Strengthen the immune system
NTZ attacks cancer celles by hindering the activated Beta-catenin. It appears that this hindering also stimulates central parts of the immune system, that attacks cancer cells.
“At the moment, we are working on how to strengthen our on going immune therapy against prostate cancer by using the mechanisms we discovered of the NTZ,” Kalland says.
Kalland and his research-team is in the first phase in a clinical trial using immune therapy against prostate cancer.
Learn more: Tapeworm drug fights Prostate Cancer
The Latest on: Immune therapy
- Oral immunotherapy treats food allergies one tiny bite at a timeon August 5, 2022 at 9:24 pm
There are more than 32 million people, including children, who have food allergies in the U.S. One bite of the wrong food could kill them. New therapies were approved just as COVID-19 was hitting, so ...
- Immunotherapy Plus Chemoradiation Improves NSCLC Outcomeson August 5, 2022 at 11:38 am
New real-world evidence on non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) aligns with the results of a 2017 clinical trial.
- Reinvigorating 'lost cause' exhausted T cells could improve cancer immunotherapyon August 5, 2022 at 11:00 am
During a battle with cancer, T cells can become exhausted and are no longer able to function properly. The early phase of exhaustion can sometimes be reversed with immunotherapy drugs, but once T ...
- Combining Immunotherapy with Anti-Rejection Drugs Can Treat Cancer, Prevent Kidney Transplant Rejectionon August 5, 2022 at 7:16 am
Most kidney transplant patients usually stop taking their immunosuppressive drugs before starting cancer immunotherapy treatment to diminish the chances of their immune systems attacking the ...
- Genmab, BioNTech Join Forces For Cancer Immunotherapy Candidateson August 5, 2022 at 6:57 am
Genmab A/S (NASDAQ: GMAB) and BioNTech SE (NASDAQ: BNTX) have expanded their global strategic collaboration to develop and commercialize novel cancer immunotherapies. Under the expansion, Genmab and ...
- Genetics may predict bladder cancer immunotherapy responseon August 4, 2022 at 8:36 pm
Investigators have identified genetic signatures that could predict whether tumors in patients with bladder and other cancers will respond to immunotherapy.
- Genetic signatures may help predict immunotherapy response in patients with bladder canceron August 3, 2022 at 2:50 pm
Investigators from Cedars-Sinai Cancer have identified genetic signatures that could predict whether tumors in patients with bladder and other cancers will respond to immunotherapy.
- Oral Immunotherapy: Treating Food Allergies One Tiny Bite at a Timeon August 2, 2022 at 9:31 am
New food allergy therapies were approved just as COVID-19 was hitting, so researchers worry that not everyone is aware of them.
- Immunotherapy: Helping your body fight cancer betteron August 1, 2022 at 10:25 am
Immunotherapy offers new hope for cancer treatment A deeper understanding of how cancer develops and the body’s response to it are active areas of research that aim to discover newer and more ...
- Researchers use mathematical modeling to explain immunotherapy responseson July 27, 2022 at 4:38 am
Immunotherapies that activate the immune system to seek and kill cancer cells have greatly improved outcomes for many patients with solid tumors. There is still, however, a subset of patients who do ...
via Google News and Bing News
Go deeper with Bing News on:
Immune system
- The first-ever complete map of immune system connections offers new pathways to therapies
For the first time ever, researchers have mapped out the connections and conversations between all our immune cells.
- Scientists create first full map of human immune system connectivity
By using advanced screening methods to tune into the communications taking place between individual cells, scientists have produced the first full connectivity map of the human immune system. This new ...
- Researchers map the human immune system for first time
Researchers have created the first complete map of the network of connections that make up the human immune system, showing how immune cells communicate with each other. The discovery could lead to ...
- First Detailed Map of Immune System Connections Reveals Therapeutic Opportunities
In creating what the team calls a physical wiring diagram for the immune system, the scientists show how immune cells across the body link up and communicate. The findings include the discovery of ...
- Map of immune system connections reveals new therapeutic opportunities
Researchers have created the first full connectivity map of the human immune system, showing how immune cells communicate with each other and ways to modulate these pathways in disease.
Go deeper with Google Headlines on:
Immune system
Go deeper with Bing News on:
Immune therapy
- Oral immunotherapy treats food allergies one tiny bite at a time
There are more than 32 million people, including children, who have food allergies in the U.S. One bite of the wrong food could kill them. New therapies were approved just as COVID-19 was hitting, so ...
- Immunotherapy Plus Chemoradiation Improves NSCLC Outcomes
New real-world evidence on non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) aligns with the results of a 2017 clinical trial.
- Reinvigorating 'lost cause' exhausted T cells could improve cancer immunotherapy
During a battle with cancer, T cells can become exhausted and are no longer able to function properly. The early phase of exhaustion can sometimes be reversed with immunotherapy drugs, but once T ...
- Combining Immunotherapy with Anti-Rejection Drugs Can Treat Cancer, Prevent Kidney Transplant Rejection
Most kidney transplant patients usually stop taking their immunosuppressive drugs before starting cancer immunotherapy treatment to diminish the chances of their immune systems attacking the ...
- Genmab, BioNTech Join Forces For Cancer Immunotherapy Candidates
Genmab A/S (NASDAQ: GMAB) and BioNTech SE (NASDAQ: BNTX) have expanded their global strategic collaboration to develop and commercialize novel cancer immunotherapies. Under the expansion, Genmab and ...