Anti-psychotic Meds Offer Hope Against Brain Cancer

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine discovered in a recent study that FDA-approved anti-psychotic drugs possess tumor-killing capability against the most aggressive form of primary brain cancer, glioblastoma multiforme. The findings from the study, published in the journal Oncotarget, used a technology platform called shRNA to test how each gene in the human genome contributed to glioblastoma growth. According to the authors of the study, shRNAs function like molecular erasers, and can be designed for every gene in the human genome. If a certain gene is required for glioblastoma growth, and the shRNA erases the function of that gene, the cancer cell will either stop growing or die. One surprising finding from the study showed that many genes required for glioblastoma growth are also required for dopamine receptor function. Abnormal dopamine regulation is associated with Parkinson’s disease, schizophrenia, and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. The research team tested the effects of dopamine antagonists against glioblastoma and found that drugs used to treat those diseases also exert significant anti-tumor effects in both cultured cells and mouse models. To read more about this study, click here.