By Admin at 12 Jan 2018, 15:27 PM

Describing cancer treatment as a “double-edged sword,” researchers from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) in Boston, Massachusetts and colleagues have revealed that chemotherapy and targeted cancer therapies may inadvertently stimulate inflammation, driving tumor growth.[1] The problem lies with “tumor cell debris,” or the tumor cells killed by treatment, which are pro-inflammatory.

In an animal study, tumor cell debris alone was not enough to drive tumor growth after 13 months, however when the debris was injected along with a small number of cancer cells (about 100, which was not enough to trigger cancer growth alone), rapid tumor growth occurred. Study author Dipak Panigrahy, M.D., assistant professor of pathology in the department of pathology at BIDMC, explained,

“This pro-tumor activity could fuel a positive feedback loop that is difficult to overcome with more aggressive cytotoxic therapy like chemotherapy and radiation … This may explain the inherent therapeutic limit to cancer treatments available today."[2]

Blocking the inflammatory response caused by tumor cell debris, however, could prove to be a viable way to improve conventional cancer treatment, and the researchers found that resolvin, an anti-inflammatory compound synthesized by your body from omega-3 fats, was an effective option to do so. Resolvins counteracted the release of inflammatory cytokines stimulated by the tumor cell debris, putting out the “cytokine storm” that was driving tumor growth.

In fact, when mice were injected with resolvins it led to several benefits, including inhibiting the debris-driven tumor growth, preventing cancer cells from spreading and enhancing conventional treatments against tumor cells. [3] Resolvins also stimulated the immune system, mobilizing white blood cells to “mop up” the tumor cell debris. [4] The compounds were effective in blocking cancer growth in animal models of lung, pancreatic, lymphoma, breast and prostate cancers, as well as melanoma,[5] and they’re already being studied for use against inflammatory and neurodegenerative diseases as well.

Encouraging the removal of tumor cell debris using resolvins, the researchers noted, “represents a new approach to prevent tumor growth and recurrence.”[6] For those receiving conventional cancer treatments, resolvins could also be used to improve outcomes, as the study found combining resolvins with chemotherapy led to tumor regression in an animal model of pancreatic cancer.

Sources:
1. J Exp Med. 2017 Nov 30
2. EurekAlert November 30, 2017
3. EurekAlert December 4, 2017
4. Brigham and Women’s Hospital November 30, 2017
5. EurekAlert November 30, 2017
6. Brigham and Women’s Hospital November 30, 2017

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