Next-generation “epigenetic” cancer pill shown to be safe
Scientists have shown that a brand new type of cancer pill that exploits the emerging field of epigenetics is safe for human use, according to Phase I trial results.
Instead of targeting faults in the DNA code, the drug - discovered in a collaboration between the ICR’s Cancer Research UK Cancer Therapeutics Unit and Chroma Therapeutics - targets cancer-causing errors in the way the body reads the DNA code. The new drug called CHR-3996 acts on an enzyme called histone deacetylase, or HDAC, which helps regulate whether genes are turned on or off.
Of all known epigenetic targets, scientists have made the most progress in developing inhibitors for HDAC, with two HDAC inhibiting drugs already licensed to treat a type of lymphoma. However, these existing drugs have limitations, including significant side-effects and for one of them the need for injections.
CHR-3996, a next-generation HDAC drug, has been designed so it selectively inhibits one type of HDAC enzyme (class one), which the collaborative team hopes will reduce side-effects associated with existing treatments while retaining its anti-cancer properties. It killed a range of different cancer cell types in laboratory testing.
The trial of 39 patients with a range of advanced cancers - led by Dr Udai Banerji from the ICR and The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust – was primarily designed to assess safety, but one patient’s pancreatic tumours shrunk, and nine other patients were shown to have stable disease for at least two months.
