Chloroquine Blocks Burkitt Lymphoma
A study conducted by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute and St Jude Children’s Research Hospital shows chloroquine, a common prescription drug used to treat malaria, prevents certain types of cancers from developing.
The Scripps and St Jude’s researchers used mouse models to test chloroquine’s impact on tumors. Their investigation revealed the drug blocked Burkitt lymphoma, a cancer of the lymphatic system, and ataxia telangiectasia, an immunodeficiency disease that predisposes humans to leukemia, lymphoma and other cancers.
More research is required, but the scientists are hopeful this discovery will lead to the development of new drugs to prevent cancer. As one explained,
“The fact that the drug attacks premalignant cells, and cells that overexpress transcription factor MYC, a notorious contributor to tumorigenesis that is implicated in more than 70 percent of all cancers, make the use of this drug very attractive for chemoprevention and cancer treatment.”
John Cleveland
Dept of Cancer Biology, The Scripps Research Institute
Jupiter, Florida
The study has been published in the online edition of the Journal of Clinical Investigation and is scheduled to appear in January 2008 print edition of JCI.
Source: US News & World Report
Related Links: Science Daily; ASscribe.org; azonano.com; unisi.it
Related Video: New Malaria Medicine Developed from Doctors Without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontieres)
Related Spanish Link: Ataxia-Telangiectasia from the University of Maryland Medical Center
Tags: A-T; chemotherapy; cancer drugs; oncology; amebicide; blood cancers; chromosome 8; Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma (NHL); Epstein-Barr Virus; Memphis, TN
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