Lower Dosing Regimens of Bisphosphonates Show Antitumor Effects in Mice
Continuous treatment with low doses of bisphosphonates, a class of drugs used to strengthen bones, has been shown to inhibit the growth of skeletal tumors in mice.
Previous evidence suggested that, at high doses, bisphosphonates have antitumor properties in animal models. But these levels are considered too high for use in patients. Lower doses that are approved for treating patients have not shown adequate tumor-fighting properties.
In a new study, Florence Daubin, M.Sc., of Inserm (the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research) in Lyon, and her colleagues tested two types of bisphosphonatesclodronate and zoledronic acidfor their effectiveness at preventing and treating skeletal tumors in mice. The mice were given daily, weekly, or single doses of the drugs either before or after they were injected with human breast cancer cells, then compared with a control group of mice that was given placebo.
A daily dose of zoledronic acid was the most effective method for preventing tumor growth, resulting in tumors that were 88% smaller than those in the control group, followed by weekly zoledronic acid (80%) and daily clodronate (50%). There was no difference in tumor size in mice given a single dose of zoledronic acid.
Contact:
Priscille Riviere, Inserm, +33 1 44 23 60 97, priscille.riviere@tobiac.inserm.fr
KISS1 Protein Required for Metastasis Suppression
A new study finds that the secretion of a protein known as KISS1 reduces metastasis of cells that express it to multiple organs in mice, but the mechanism for this continues to elude researchers.
The KISS1 protein also plays a role in sexual maturation when it is secreted and then processed into smaller peptides called ki
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Contact: Liz Savage
jncimedia@oxfordjournals.org
301-841-1287
Journal of the National Cancer Institute
20-Feb-2007