Experimental enzyme treatment reduces tumor growth in cancer study
New therapy shows promise for treating pancreatic, ovarian cancers
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An experimental therapy containing a specific ratio of two naturally occurring pancreatic enzymes may be able to reduce the growth of certain cancers, including pancreatic cancer and ovarian cancer.
That’s according to a new study funded by Propanc Biopharma, the company developing the investigational treatment. In the study, researchers wrote that the new therapy “could have relevant oncological clinical applications for the treatment of solid tumours like advanced pancreatic [cancer] and advanced epithelial ovarian cancer.”
The study, “A formulation of pancreatic pro-enzymes provides potent anti-tumour efficacy: a pilot study focused on pancreatic and ovarian cancer,” was published in Scientific Reports.
PRP reduced tumor growth in mouse models
The pancreas is an organ in the abdomen that is key to digestion and regulating hormones. One of the main jobs of the pancreas is to make enzymes, which are shipped to the intestines and help the body to break down food. Since these naturally occurring enzymes are able to break apart complex biological molecules like large proteins, researchers have been exploring ways that they might be applied to help treat diseases like cancer.
The experimental therapy used in this study, called PRP, is a combination of trypsinogen and chymotrypsinogen A. These are both pancreatic proenzymes, or inactive molecules that are converted into active enzymes inside the body. PRP contains these two proenzymes at a specific ratio: one part trypsinogen for every six parts chymotrypsinogen A.
In the new study, the researchers tested the impact of these proenzymes on two dozen cancer cell lines (cancer cells engineered to be grown in a dish indefinitely). They found that the one-to-six ratio used in PRP was consistently better at inhibiting cell growth than other ratios of these two proenzymes.
The researchers then conducted a battery of further tests of PRP using cell lines as well as mouse models. Results indicated that PRP treatment reduced angiogenesis (the formation of new blood vessels, which is key for solid tumor growth) and lessened cancer cells’ ability to spread to other parts of the body. In mouse models of pancreatic and ovarian cancers, treatment with PRP significantly reduced tumor growth.
The encouraging survival extension observed in the UK Specials program, together with the favorable tolerability profile, supports continued development of PRP as a differentiated, non-cytotoxic [cell-killing] approach for patients with advanced pancreatic [cancer] and epithelial ovarian cancer.
Following the tests in lab models, 46 cancer patients were treated with PRP, administered as a suppository, as part of a U.K. Pharmaceuticals Special Scheme. These patients had a range of different cancer types, but all of them had advanced cancer that had spread to multiple parts of the body.
Results showed that nearly half (41.3%) of these patients had survival times significantly longer than predicted, and the overall average survival time exceeded the predicted average (9 months vs. 5.6 months). The proenzyme-based treatment was also tolerated well, with no serious safety issues reported.
“The data published in Scientific Reports provide clear evidence that our synergistic PRP formulation can inhibit key drivers of tumor progression … while delivering meaningful tumor growth suppression in relevant [mouse] models,” Ralf Brandt, PhD, research and development director at Propanc, said in a company press release. “The encouraging survival extension observed in the UK Specials program, together with the favorable tolerability profile, supports continued development of PRP as a differentiated, non-cytotoxic [cell-killing] approach for patients with advanced pancreatic [cancer] and epithelial ovarian cancer.”
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