New in the treatment of intestinal oncology

Specialists from Spain proposed a new target in the therapy of intestinal cancer, which is associated with inflammation.

Scientists have in mind the signal protein P38 in the myeloid immune structures and insulin-like growth factor IGF-1, which are linked by mutual activity.

The experiments were performed on rodents suffering from intestinal inflammations.

"The selection of tactics and therapeutic regimen for intestinal oncology should be carried out after assessing the degree of inflammatory reaction in the intestine, and also after determining the concentration of the hormonal substance IGF-1 in the study material of patients with an inflammatory-associative tumor," explains Professor Angel Nebreda.

Dr. Nebreda, together with his colleagues from the Institute of Biological and Medical Research in Barcelona, gave details of his project work.

Cancerous processes in the large intestine and rectum occupy the third place among the most common oncological pathologies in the world practice. Each year, these diseases are diagnosed in 1.4 million new patients. Mortality of such cancer processes also breaks records and ranks second in countries with advanced medicine.

An important risk factor that often leads to the development of oncological processes in the intestine is inflammatory reactions, and in particular, ulcerative colitis.

The human immune system strives to fight against any external enemy, whether it be a viral or fungal infection, or the simplest microorganisms. Intestinal microbiom has passed through all stages of evolution together with man, having reached that balance, which guarantees to the organism a healthy and calm state. If the inflammatory process develops in the intestine, then this fragile balance is broken, and the immune defense suffers first.

The chronic presence of an inflammatory reaction in the tissues, the permanent damage to the cellular structures over time terminates with their malignant degeneration.

While scientists can not accurately explain the molecular processes and mechanisms of nucleation and further development of inflammatory bowel diseases. As a result, physicians continue to treat non-specific ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease by standard methods for all methods: the administration of large doses of glucocorticoids, immunosuppressors, and over time the removal of the affected part of the intestine and symptomatic supporting treatment.

Anti-inflammatory signaling molecular structures - we are talking about cytokines - can serve as a factor of intestinal regeneration, and an activator of the malignant process. Therefore, scientific specialists from Spain paid special attention to myeloid cells, which play an important role in oncogenesis. The first thing scientists were interested in was the protein substance P38.

During the experiments on rodents, in which the inflammatory process in the intestine was initiated, the following fact was discovered: signaling of P38 within myeloid structures played a basic role in the onset of an inflammatory-associated cancer tumor. When suppressing the protein substance with appropriate medication or genetic manipulation, the degree of inflammation inside the intestine decreased, and the tumor load also decreased.

According to the authors, insulin-like growth factor IGF-1 is able to become a necessary target in the treatment regimen for patients suffering from inflammatory bowel diseases. "This hormonal substance has a strong influence on the immunity and quality of the microenvironment of the tumor," Dr. Nebreda explained.

Details about the discovery of scientists can be found in the scientific publication EMBO Molecular Medicine.

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