Editor's Choice Academic Journal Main Category: Ear, Nose and Throat Also Included In: Cancer / Oncology Article Date: 23 Mar 2012 - 8:00 PDT

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In the March 20 issue of the journal Cancer Cell, researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center reveal that the mTOR molecular pathway stimulates the activity of the Gli1 protein in the development and progression of esophageal cancer.

Senior author of the study, Mien-Chie Hung, Ph.D., vice president for basic research, professor and chair of MD Anderson's Department of Molecular and Cellular Oncology, explained:

Crosstalk between these two pathways is a challenge, but our experiments showed a combination of the mTOR inhibitor RAD-001 (Afinitor) and the Hedgehog inhibitor GDC-0449 (Erivedge) steeply reduced the tumor burden in a mouse model of esophageal adenocarcinoma."

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved both drugs for use in other types of cancer.

After examining 107 tissue samples of human esophageal cancer, the researchers found that 87 (81.3%) had a marker of Gli1 activated by Hedgehog and 80 (74.8%) had a marker of mTOR promotion of Gli1.

According to the researchers less than 20% of individuals suffering from esophageal cancer (one of the most aggressive forms of cancer) survive for 5 years. Furthermore, they highlight that since the 1980s, the disease has become more prevalent in the U.S by 5% to 10% each year. Obesity and inflammation are believed to contribute to this increased incidence.

In order to show how mTOR and Hedgehog, both involved in esophageal and other types of cancers, converge on Gli1, the team conducted experiments with cell lines, human tumor samples and mouse models.

Read more from the original source:
Potential Combination Therapy For Esophageal Cancer

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