Cheap anti-malaria drug shows promise against colorectal cancer

Date: Nov-19-2014 A pilot study shows that a widely used anti-malaria drug could

be effective in treating colorectal cancer and provide a cheap adjunct

to expensive chemotherapy.

A cheap anti-malaria drug called artesunate slowed tumor cell proliferation in colorectal cancer patients, according to a new study.

The researchers behind the study - from St George's, University of

London in the UK - write about their findings in the journal

EBioMedicine.

They describe how the drug artesunate - a common anti-malaria

medicine - showed a promising effect in slowing tumor cell

proliferation in a small group of colorectal cancer patients before

they had their tumors surgically removed.

Colorectal cancer - cancer of the colon and rectum - accounts for

around 10% of the annual 746,000 global cases of cancer in men per

year and 614,000 cases in women. It affects all racial and ethnic

groups, and is most often found in the over-50s.

Of the cancers that affect both men and women, colorectal cancer is

the third most common and the second leading cause of cancer death in

the US.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 135,260

cases of colorectal cancer were diagnosed in the US in 2011, and in

that year, 51,783 Americans died of the disease.

Even best current treatments offer maximum of 60% disease-free

survival after 5 years

Even with the best possible treatments, note the authors, prognosis

of disease free or overall survival 5 years after diagnosis does not

increase beyond 60%.

Lead author and joint study leader Sanjeev Krishna, a professor and

expert in infectious diseases at St George's, urges:

"There is therefore a continuing and urgent need to develop new,

cheap, orally effective and safe colorectal cancer treatments."

He and his colleagues decided to take a look at an existing drug -

already known to have some anti-cancer effects in lab settings - and

assess its safety and effectiveness in patients.

"The results have been more than encouraging and can offer hopes of

finding effective treatment options that are cheaper in the future,"

Prof. Krishna notes.

In total, 22 patients with colorectal cancer completed the study, which began

before they had their tumors surgically removed. They were randomly

assigned to two groups: one received the anti-malaria drug artesunate

and the other a placebo.

The analysis was a double-blind study, which means neither the

participants nor the clinicians administering the drugs knew whether

they were using the anti-malaria drug or the identical-looking

placebo.

The participants received a 14 days' supply of blister-packed pills -

artesunate or placebo - before undergoing surgery and receiving

standard care. The patients stopped taking the oral medication 2-3 days before their operation. The dose for artesunate was 200

mg.

Results justify further studies of artesunate's effect on

colorectal cancer

At 42 months after surgery, there were six recurrences of cancer in the

placebo group of 12 patients and one recurrence in the group that was

given artesunate (10 patients).

Senior author and joint study leader Devinder Kumar, a professor and

leading expert in colorectal cancer at St George's notes that:

"The survival beyond 2 years in the artesunate group was estimated

at 91% whilst surviving the first recurrence of cancer in the placebo

group was only 57%."

The authors note that larger clinical studies "with artesunate that

aim to provide well tolerated and convenient anticancer regimens should

be implemented with urgency."

Such trials "may provide an intervention where none is currently

available, as well as synergistic benefits with current treatment

regimens," they add.

Most colorectal cancer patients around the world do not have access

to advanced treatments.

Meanwhile, Medical News Today recently learned that while

they appear to be falling among older Americans, rates of colorectal cancer are rising in

young adults.

Written by Catharine Paddock PhD

Not to be reproduced without permission.

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Courtesy: Medical News Today Note: Any medical information available in this news section is not intended as a substitute for informed medical advice and you should not take any action before consulting with a health care professional.