Botox May Stop Spread of Stomach Cancer
Dr. Len Lichtenfeld, deputy chief medical officer of the American Cancer Society, reports on a new study that involved injecting mice with Botox to stop the spread of stomach cancer.
What researchers found was that by paralyzing nerves that connect to tumours, Botox appears to stop the spread and progression of tumours while improving the odds of surviving the cancer.
Lichtenfeld admits that the results are only preliminary and it will take some time before researchers know whether Botox will produce the same results in humans.
Cases of stomach cancer have been rising in recent years due to obesity and reflux diseases. Unfortunately, they’re often not diagnosed until after the cancer is advanced, requiring either chemotherapy or surgery.
It creates special challenges for treatment because it's generally "silent," Lichtenfeld said, explaining stomach cancer doesn't become noticeable until it's so advanced that patents require extensive surgery or chemotherapy.
While not one of the most common cancers in the United States, rising rates of obesity and reflux disease have boosted certain types of stomach cancer, Lichtenfeld said. Rates of stomach cancer are much higher in Southeast Asia and Japan.
In mice with a rough equivalent of human stomach cancer, the researchers tried several approaches, including cutting nerves to the stomach or paralyzing them with injections of Botox.
According to the study, the two treatments reduced the number of tumours and their progression while boosting survival and the effects of chemotherapy.
Botox is made from a toxin produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum. It is best known for temporarily smoothing wrinkles by paralyzing facial muscles. Doctors also use it to correct crossed eyes, control excessive underarm sweating and overactive bladder, and to treat migraine headaches, according to the National Institutes of Health.
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