Tagged with “methotrexate”
ArchivesOld Chemo Drug May Fight Lynch Syndrome
Methotrexate, a chemotherapy drug used as long ago as the 1940′s, may be effective against colorectal cancers caused by mutations in a gene that is part of Lynch syndrome.
The drug targeted and destroyed cells that contained mutated MSH2 genes. Inherited mutations in MSH2 prevent mistakes in correct copying of DNA during cell division allowing cancer to develop and grow, particularly inherited colorectal and endometrial cancers. In addition, MSH2 mutations can occur in some colorectal cancers that are not inherited.
Based on the work done in cancer cells, a Phase II clinical trial has begun recruiting patients with advanced colorectal cancer at the Royal Marsden Cancer Hospital in the United Kingdom. To be part of the trial, patients need to have changes in MSH2 genes either in their tumor tissue or in their blood. Continue reading…
Posted by Kate Murphy on August 30th, 2009
Posted in: Research & Treatment News | No Comments »
Tags: HNPCC, Lynch syndrome, methotrexate
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