Anti-Wrinkle Drug May Treat Stomach Cancers: Study

WASHINGTON, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- Botox, the popular wrinkle eraser, could also be effective in treating stomach cancers, a new study said Wednesday.

The study, published in the U.S. journal Science Translational Medicine, showed that the drug slows cancer growth by eliminating the signals sent by nerves that are linked to cancer stem cells.

Researchers have thus far tested the procedure on mice, and will soon start testing on humans.

"This study shows that nerves control cancer stem cells," said the study led by Duan Chen, professor of Norwegian University of Science and Technology, and Timothy Wang, professor of the Columbia University.

"We found that by removing the effect of the nerve, the stem cells in the cancer tumor are suppressed, leading to cancer treatment and prevention," Chen said.

The study found that nerves promote tumor growth through the release of a neurotransmitter.

The researchers tried four methods to cut the connection between the nerves and the tumor: surgically by cutting the gastric vagus nerve (vagotomy), by local injection of Botox to block the release of neurotransmitter from the vagus nerve, by giving a drug to block the receptor of the neurotransmitter, and by knocking out of the receptor gene. All procedures suppressed the tumor growth.

"But we found that the anti-cancer effects were remarkable, especially with local vagotomy or by injecting Botox. It actually surprised us. The finding that Botox was highly effective was particularly exciting," Chen said.

Botox is made from a toxin produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum and is well known to the public as a beauty treatment, but it is also used for different medical indications.

"We believe this treatment is a good treatment because it can be used locally and it targets the cancer stem cells. The Botox can be injected through gastroscopy and it only requires the patient to stay in the hospital for a few hours," said Chen.

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Anti-Wrinkle Drug May Treat Stomach Cancers: Study