Arthritis drug may boost survival rates for those with ‘Angelina Jolie gene’

BREAKTHROUGH research has revealed an arthritis drug may improve the prognosis for ovarian cancer patients with the BRCA1 mutation.

 

An arthritis drug may boost survival rates for those with ‘Angelina Jolie gene’

 

The anti-rheumatic medication is providing significant hope for thousands of patients suffering from ovarian cancer, a study has revealed.

The “highly promising” find shows the drug Auranofin can kill off ovarian cancer cells in women with deficiencies of the gene. 

The arthritis drug reduces survival rates of BRCA1-deficient cancerous cells by over a third, the study revealed. 

 

Auranofin can kill off ovarian cancer cells in women with deficiencies of the gene

 

BRCA1 - popularly known as the Angelina Jolie gene - is a tumour-suppressing gene because of its ability to guide the repair of damaged DNA.

The gene is mutated in 15-20 per cent of ovarian cancer cases and carriers of the deficiency are predisposed to the potentially deadly disease.

A mutation of the BRCA1 gene can also increase the likelihood of developing breast cancer.

Ms Jolie underwent a double mastectomy and had her ovaries removed after learning she had carried a gene mutation linked to breast and ovarian cancers.

 

The BRCA1 is mutated in 15-20 per cent of ovarian cancer cases

 

The actress, 40, had an 87 per cent risk of developing breast cancer and 50 per cent risk of developing ovarian cancer.

Awadhesh Jha, Professor of Toxicology and Associate Head (Research) in the School of Biological Sciences said: “Using drugs such as Auranofin to treat cancer is highly promising since they are readily available and their pharmacological and toxicological properties are well documented. 

“Studies carried out with cells grown under laboratory conditions showed faults in the BRCA1 gene render these cells more vulnerable to Auranofin compared to ovarian cancer cells with normal BRCA1 genes. 

“It suggests that Auranofin has the potential to be considered for future clinical studies to treat such ovarian cancers and this could serve as the spring board to use other available drugs which are not used as chemotherapeutic drugs.”

 

Researchers want to look at other non-chemotherapeutic drugs in the fight against cancer

 

The exciting discovery also has the potential to be used as a “spring board” for scientists to look at other available drugs that aren’t chemotherapeutic drugs in treating cancer. 

Dr Dennis Yiannakis, Clinical Oncologist at the Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust, added: “Our collaboration has focused on the field of DNA repair (particularly BRCA 1/2 mutated states) and its relevance to ovarian and lung cancer. 

“The project is investigating the accurate diagnosis of faults in high fidelity DNA repair and how to manipulate it for therapeutic benefit in patients. This is an emerging area of potential ways of treating these cancers.”