A team of British scientists lead by Janine Erler has found a new drug for treating patients with advanced bowel cancer. The drug could also be used for identifying tumors that respond to the cancer drug Sprycel made by Bristol Myers Squibb. The cancer drug Sprycel, or Dasatinib more commonly known, has been found to reduce colon cancer growth by inhibiting the effects of an enzyme called LOX.

Janine Erler, the leader of the British scientist team, said that the enzyme LOX is responsible for the rapid growth of cancer as it plays a crucial role in other forms of cancer as well and that is why it might hold the key to stopping the growth in tumors. Their latest work proved that tumor cells with high level of LOX spread faster than cancer cells with low levels of LOX. This happened because LOX activates a molecule called SRC which in turn promotes the growth and spread of cancer cells, a recent study has shown. This conclusion led the team to look at the drug Sprycel because it is known that it blocks the SRC function and because the drug has been already tested with success and now it is used to treat patients with myeloid leukemia or CML.

These findings offered the team of British scientist two new possibilities to treat advanced bowel cancer. One is treating cancer cells with the existing SRC inhibitors such as Sprycel, Bosutinib from Pfizer, Ponatinib from Aariad and others or with a new drug they are currently developing to fight against LOX.

Bowel cancer is very dangerous as it is known to be the third most common form of cancer worldwide and it is responsible for 520,000 deaths each year. Even if the study is in the early stages of development it brings hope for patients with poor prognosis and perhaps will encourage scientists to research this treatment in more depth. It is very possible that in a few years we shall see in our hospitals treatment aimed at LOX or SRC molecules that will provide patients with long term positive results.... More.