Fundamental research of application of arsenic compound in combination with tetrandrine to combat breast cancer

2016 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 26460233
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Medical pharmacy
• Research Institution: Tokyo University of Pharmacy and Life Science
• Principal Investigator: Yuan Bo 東京薬科大学, 薬学部, 講師 (10328552)
• Co-Investigator(Renkei-kenkyūsha): TAKAGI Norio 東京薬科大学, 薬学部, 教授 (50318193)
• Project Period (FY): 2014-04-01 – 2017-03-31
• Keywords: 乳がん / 亜ヒ酸化合物 / テトランドリン / オートファジー / 薬物トランスポーター

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Despite advances in early detection, diagnosis, and targeted treatment, breast cancer is still among the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in women. The need for novel therapeutic strategies remains paramount given the sustained development of drug resistance, and tumor recurrence.
In this study, we investigated the cytotoxicity of a combination of arsenite (AsIII) and tetrandrine (Tetra) against breast cancer cells, and clarified that Tetra significantly synergistically enhanced the cytotoxicity of AsIII against the cells. We also clarified their antitumor activity in a mouse xenograft model, and demonstrated that no alteration in the body weight was observed in mice between control and treatment group regardless of the long-term administration of the combination, indicating the combined treatment was well tolerated by all mice. Our findings thus provide novel insight into the development of new therapeutic strategies to combat breast cancer using AsIII-based combination therapy.

Free Research Field

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