がんの科学と治療

Cancer occurs as a result of contributions from environmental and genetic factors. These factors lead to disturbance in genomic composition of a cell. The change in the cellular genome distorts the normal physiological activities of the cells like, cell division, cell differentiation, angiogenesis and cell migration to cause cancer. Current anti-cancer drugs cause side effects to patients. Natural products from animals, plants and microorganism offer a lot of anticancer drugs due to the effectiveness of their bioactive compounds. Haruan fish extract contains eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and decosahexaenoic acid (DHA) collectively called omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids. Several researchers reported that the fatty acids prevent the development of breast, colon, pancreatic and prostate cancers. However, the anti-cancer effects of Haruan fish extract has not been established. Considering the side effects cause by anti-cancer drugs as well as the drug resistance nature of cancer cells, it is necessary to search for effective drugs from natural products that can cure cancer alone or incombination with other chemotherapeutic agents. Therefore, in this review, we analysed and suggest how anti-cancer effects of the Haruan fish extract could be explored using cell culture, animal models and human epidemiological studies.

Sleep-related Rhythmic Movement Disorder (SRMD) generally occurs during the neonatal period or early childhood. However, it has not yet been precisely defined despite various hypotheses with respect to its etiopathogenesis. These types of movements rarely continue during adulthood. SRMD, likely to be idiopathic, may develop due to secondary causes as well. In this study, we highlight adult-onset SRMD in a patient with the diagnosis of lung cancer.

Objectives: LEC chemokine promotes TH1 responses and recruits immune cells to inflammatory sites. By linking LEC to an antibody targeting tumor necrosis, LEC/chTNT-3 can be used for the immunotherapeutic treatment of tumors. The primary objective of this study was to determine the safety profile of LEC/chTNT-3 and toceranib phosphate (Palladia®) combination therapy in dogs with spontaneous malignancies. Secondary purpose was to determine objective responses to treatment.

Methods: Twenty-three dogs with cancer were enrolled, covering nine different malignancies. In this dose escalation study, dogs received LEC/chTNT-3 for five days, and toceranib every 48 hours for the remainder of the study. Dogs received physical exams, chemistry panel, urinalysis, and complete blood counts on days 0, 10, 28 of the study, and every 6-8 weeks thereafter.  

Results: Lethargy was noted in 13% dogs. There were no statistical differences in the prevalence of anorexia, diarrhea, thrombocytopenia, renal toxicity, or hepatic toxicity before or during the study. There were trends in increases in the prevalence of vomiting, lymphopenia, and neutropenia (all grade 2 or lower, p=0.07) over the initial 28 days of the study. By day 28, 10% of dogs had partial responses, 58% had stable disease, and 32% had progressive disease.

Conclusions: LEC/chTNT-3 and toceranib were well tolerated. This combination therapy showed some biological activity against a variety of cancers at a low dose and short duration of LEC/chTNT-3 administration.