Arthritis drug could help beat melanoma skin cancer
A breakthrough discovery by the University of East Anglia (UEA) and Children's Hospital Boston promises an effective new treatment for one of the deadliest forms of cancer.
Reporting in the March 24 edition (front cover story) of the journal Nature, the researchers found that leflunomide - a drug commonly used to treat rheumatoid arthritis – also inhibits the growth of malignant melanoma.
Melanoma is a cancer of the pigment cells in our skin. It is the most aggressive form of skin cancer and, unlike most other cancers, incidence of the disease is increasing. More than 10,000 patients in the UK are diagnosed with melanoma each year. If caught early, surgery can be used to safely remove the tumour but the chances of survival for patients whose tumour is already spreading are very low. Around 2000 people a year in the UK die from malignant melanoma because the cancer has returned after being removed surgically.
Read the whole article at ecancermedicalscience
Reference
- White, R. M., Cech, J. (2011). DHODH modulates transcriptional elongation in the neural crest and melanoma Nature DOI: 10.1038/nature09882
Keywords: leflunomide, melanoma, rheumatoid arthritis
23. 3. 2011 ecancermedicalscience
