Abandoned insomnia drug could be new weapon in treating cancer without toxic side effects



Compound found to stop a type of cancer cell from repairing itself so blocking its ability to grow



A 'forgotten' inexpensive drug developed to treat sleeplessness could be a new weapon in the fight against brain, breast, lung, ovary and liver cancers.



Scientists have found the 'orphan' drug abandoned because it was ineffective in treating sleep disorders could be the new weapon in the campaign to find safe more-effective cancer therapies that produce no toxic side-effects.



The compound has been sitting on the shelves for years but was rediscovered by American scientists.

Dr Carla Grandori found the Achilles heel of Myc-driven cancer cells

The drug exploits a cancer cell's Achilles hell by killing them off while sparing normal tissues, research has indicated.



A team from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Centre in Seattle found a new weakness in cancer cells driven by an oncogene called 'Myc'. An oncogene is a gene with the potential to cause cancer when mutated or expressed at high levels.

'Myc' is known to play a role in various cancers but until now was considered 'undruggable' because it is not readily neutralised by the kind of small, stable molecule that would work as a cancer drug.



Even if such drugs existed, they would likely disable Myc in normal cells as well, which would create toxic side effects.



However, leading researcher Dr Carla Grandori said: 'Myc-driven cancer cells have an Achilles heel.



'Their rapid growth and division damages their DNA, and they rely on other genes to repair that damage. Disabling those genes can cripple the cancer's ability to grow.'



The Centre has now found more than 100 genes which, when blocked, caused the death of Myc-driven cancer cells but not normal cells.



This suggests that each of these genes is a potential target for a new, non-toxic cancer therapy.



Of note was a compound that already exists in a defunct sleep drug.

Breakthrough: A team from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Centre in Seattle have found more than 100 potential targets for a new, non-toxic cancer therapy

Dr Grandori said: 'It had been sitting on a shelf for years, like the thousands of other 'orphan' drugs that are abandoned when they prove ineffective for their intended use.'



With a simple, five-minute web search, she purchased the compound online and designed an experiment to test its potential.



She implanted special laboratory mice with Myc-driven neuroblastomas - a deadly cancer of the nervous system that often strikes children.

Half of the mice were then treated with the new compound.



The untreated mice quickly died of their tumours, but the treated mice thrived and their neuroblastomas shrank away.



She said: 'It is possible that the next great breakthrough in cancer therapy is already out there, sitting on a shelf, hiding in plain view.'