UH cancer study shows promise

Researchers at the University of Hawaii Cancer Center have developed two chemical compounds effective in shutting down the malfunctioning protein responsible for the growth of brain cancer cells and breast cancer tumors.

With further testing, the compounds could lead to the development of new, less toxic cancer-fighting drugs and the first effective nonsurgical treatment for brain cancer, according to James Turkson, chief academic lead of the UH Cancer Center and director of the Natural Products and Experimental Therapeutics Program.

Turkson and his colleagues targeted their efforts on the Stat3 protein, which regulates genes. When the protein malfunctions — "goes haywire," as Turkson says — it drives cancer cells to multiply and spread.

Adopting a "positive therapeutics" approach of targeted treatment, the team designed a hydroxamic acid-based inhibitor (SH5-07) and a benzoic acid-based inhibitor (SH4-54) capable of halting the proc­ess through which Stat3 influences cancer cells to grow.

"The compounds go into cells, find the cancer-causing molecule and physically interrupts it," Turkson said in a telephone interview Sunday. "It turns it off so it can no longer perform the erratic behavior that allows cancer cells to grow and spread."

Turkson said the specific targeting of Stat3 allows for a significantly less toxic treatment approach than traditional chemotherapy, which means fewer side effects and a better overall quality of life for those undergoing treatment.

The impact of the prospective treatment could be far-reaching. According to the American Cancer Society, an estimated 40,931 people nationwide die from breast cancer each year. An additional 15,320 people die from brain cancer each year in the United States.

The compounds might also be effective in combating other forms of cancer. While the UH Cancer Center team concentrated on brain and breast cancer, Turkson said Stat3 has also been linked to melanoma, colon cancer, head and neck cancers, leukemia, multiple myeloma and other cancer-related conditions.

"The potential applications are very broad," Turkson said.

The team’s findings are included in an article published in the current edition of the journal Cancer Research.

The compounds will next be subject to an estimated five years of rigorous advanced preclinical studies via a contracted laboratory. Following that, UH, which holds the patents on the compounds, will be able to work directly with pharmaceutical companies to develop the cancer-fighting drugs.

For Turkson, a native of Ghana who lost his mother to cervical cancer just as he was entering college, the milestone development of the two compounds was particularly meaningful.

“The people who dedicate their hearts and souls to cancer research very often do it for personal reasons,” Turkson said. “I could not prevent my mother from dying, but I want to help others avoid what happened to her. It is my driving force.”