Increased 'Cancer Killing Power by 30%' with Cholesterol Medication

The research team demonstrated using SPECT (Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography), a state-of-the-art nuclear medicine molecular imaging device, that the anticancer effect is enhanced when atorvastatin, a hyperlipidemia treatment, is administered simultaneously with rituximab labeled with radioactive iodine.

[Asia Economy Reporter Junho Hwang] Domestic researchers have developed a combination therapy that can increase the effectiveness of anticancer radiation therapy by more than 30%. This technology enhances cancer cell killing power by about 30% by administering a hyperlipidemia drug together with a radioimmunotherapy agent. On the 18th, the Korea Institute of Radiological & Medical Sciences announced that the research results of Dr. Jinsu Kim's team on this topic were published in the international academic journal Journal Cancers.

The research team reported animal experiment results showing that administering the hyperlipidemia drug atorvastatin together with the radioimmunotherapy agent radioactive iodine-rituximab can increase treatment effectiveness by more than 30%.

Radioimmunotherapy is a treatment that combines the effects of radiation therapy and immune response through targeted antibodies. It is an advanced radiation therapy that minimizes radiation exposure to normal cells by irradiating only cancer cells using targeted antibodies.

Atorvastatin facilitates the tumor tissue penetration of rituximab, an anticancer targeted therapy, and helps overcome the treatment resistance of hypoxic cancer cells, which have low oxygen levels that make radiation therapy difficult.

The research team divided mice with lymphoma into groups receiving radioactive iodine-rituximab alone and a combination of radioactive iodine-rituximab plus atorvastatin, and compared treatment effects using single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). As a result, the combination therapy group showed more than a 20% increase in radioactive iodine-rituximab penetration into tumors compared to the single-agent group. Tumor killing effects also increased by more than 30% compared to single-agent treatment.

The research team confirmed that administering atorvastatin reduces the HIF-1 gene (hypoxia-inducible factor), which allows cancer cells to adapt to low-oxygen environments. Atorvastatin increases microRNA-346, which regulates gene expression within cells, making cancer cells unable to survive in hypoxic conditions. Cancer cells often become hypoxic during proliferation. However, hypoxic cancer cells survive in oxygen-deficient environments and increase malignancy. This also acts as a factor that helps them resist radiation therapy.

Dr. Jinsu Kim stated, "With the proven effect of this combination therapy, we hope that clinical trials will accelerate the commercialization of cancer treatments using radioisotopes and radiation, allowing domestic patients with intractable cancers to receive faster treatment benefits."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.