http://bit.ly/2ynNdBt
"Findings from a new study published by Molecular Cancer Research suggest that an ultra-low dose of arsenic could be a powerful therapy against cancer.
Arsenic is a naturally-occurring element that is present in the environment, water, and air, according to the World Health Organization. However, long-term exposure to inorganic arsenic can lead to poisoning and various types of cancer.
Arsenic trioxide has been used to fight acute promyelocytic leukemia (PL), a rare subtype of blood cancer. For the first time, the authors of the current study showed that the drug could be used against glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), a deadly and aggressive form of brain cancer."
This isn't the first time a study has shown arsenic trioxide could be used against GBM.
ReplyDeleteFor example, this preclinical study from 2015.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26510911 - Arsenic trioxide disrupts glioma stem cells via promoting PML degradation to inhibit tumor growth
and clinical trials:
Phase I study of arsenic trioxide and temozolomide in combination
with radiation therapy in patients with malignant gliomas
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22875709
A phase II trial of arsenic trioxide and temozolomide
in combination with radiation therapy for patients with malignant
gliomas
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28510787
The phase II trial concluded "The addition of arsenic did not improve overall survival in the GBM patients as compared to historic data."
This new paper contributes by showing that the arsenic trioxide treatment might be more effective in a certain subgroup of GBM (the proneural subgroup).
"Finally, examination of the effect of ATO on patients from a phase I/II clinical trial of ATO [arsenic trioxide] revealed that PN [proneural] GBM patients responded better to ATO than other subtypes as demonstrated by longer overall and progression-free survival."
http://mcr.aacrjournals.org/content/early/2017/10/14/1541-7786.MCR-17-0397
Differential Response of Glioma Stem Cells to Arsenic Trioxide Therapy is Regulated by MNK1 and mRNA Translation
A Canadian document from 2014 discussing arsenic trioxide for acute promyelocytic leukemia states:
"At the submitted list price, arsenic trioxide costs $530 per 10 mg single-use ampoule.
During induction, at the recommended dose of 0.15 mg/kg/day until complete remission or a maximum of 60 doses, arsenic trioxide costs $556.50 per day and $15,582 per 28-day course. During consolidation, at the recommended dose of 0.15 mg/kg/day for 5 days per week for four weeks every 8 weeks (for a total of 90 treatments), arsenic trioxide costs $397.5 per day and $11,130 per 28-day cycle."
https://www.cadth.ca/sites/default/files/pcodr/pcodr-trisenox-apl-fn-egr.pdf
And from drugs.com:
"Has a generic version of Trisenox been approved? No. There is currently no therapeutically equivalent version of Trisenox available in the United States."
https://www.drugs.com/availability/generic-trisenox.html