In a recent clinical study published in Nature Medicine, researchers from ETH Zurich, University Hospitals of Basel and Zurich, and Basel-Land Cantonal Hospital administered low doses of digoxin to nine patients with metastatic breast cancer for one week.
The results were encouraging: the number of cells in circulating tumor cell (CTC) clusters decreased significantly, by an average of 2.2 cells. This reduction is crucial, as smaller clusters are less likely to form metastases successfully. Nicola Aceto, the study's principal investigator, explains, "Breast cancer metastasis depends on CTC clusters. The larger they are, the more successful they are."
Digoxin, traditionally used for heart conditions, works by blocking sodium-potassium pumps in tumor cell membranes. This blockage leads to increased calcium absorption, weakening the cohesion between cancer cells in the clusters and causing them to break apart.
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While digoxin alone doesn't eliminate existing tumors, it could potentially be combined with other cancer-killing substances for a more comprehensive treatment approach. The researchers are now focusing on developing new molecules based on digoxin that are even more effective at dissolving CTC clusters.
This study builds on the team's 2019 discovery of digoxin's potential effectiveness against breast cancer, which emerged from a screening of over 2,400 substances in cell cultures.
Looking ahead, Professor Aceto aims to expand this research to other metastatic cancers, including prostate, colorectal, pancreatic, and melanoma. Initial experiments in these areas have already begun.