Pinworm medication may treat aggressive skin cancer: Researchers

A team of US scientists has found that a common pinworm medication may stop and reverse cancer growth in Merkel cell carcinoma an aggressive form of skin cancerThe research led by University of Arizona Cancer Center and published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation found that in laboratory models of Merkel cell carcinoma pyrvinium pamoate inhibited cancer cell growth and reversed the cancerrsquos neuroendocrine featuresIn mouse models of Merkel cell carcinoma pyrvinium pamoate reduced tumour growthMerkel cell carcinoma is a rare but fastgrowing neuroendocrine cancer that is three to five times more likely than melanoma to be deadly Response rates to current therapies ndash surgery radiation and immunotherapy ndash are limited resulting in a need for effective and broadly applicable therapeuticsldquoMerkel cell carcinoma is increasing in incidence Even though itrsquos a rare cancer type it mimics a lot of properties that other cancers haverdquo said senior author Megha Padi assistant professor at the universityPyrvinium pamoate a medication approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 1955 to treat pinworms has been shown to have antitumour potential in several different cancers including breast colorectal pancreatic and bladder cancers This is the first time it has been studied in models of Merkel cell carcinomaPadi and the research team found that in laboratory models of Merkel cell carcinoma pyrvinium pamoate inhibited cancer cell growth and reversed the cancerrsquos neuroendocrine features In mouse models of Merkel cell carcinoma pyrvinium pamoate reduced tumor growthldquoThis is a hypothesis but some people think the reason an antiparasitic agent could be effective against cancers is because tumours are a little bit like parasites in our bodyrdquo Padi said ldquoParasites and tumours must develop ways to use scarce resources in their host to feed themselves and allow for unlimited multiplication If the pathways that they have hijacked to feed themselves are the same then you get lucky and you have a tumour type that could be amenable to killing by these antiparasitic drugsrdquoThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoeveratOptionskeyd0ddb8ef8f1a62a8cdd22fac27fc5ea7formatiframeheight90width728params