[Science Sub-Journal] A cheap oral drug-arginine, can enhance the effect of cancer radiotherapy?

This article is original by Translational Medicine Network.
Please indicate the source for reprinting.
Author: Ashley Guide: A recent study reported the prognosis of 31 patients with brain metastases given arginine before standard radiotherapy.
During the 4-year follow-up period, nearly 78% Patients with brain tumors experience complete or partial remission
.

Evidence from this study and previous studies also shows that arginine can not only directly hinder tumor cells, but also enhance the activity of anti-tumor immune cells
.

A proof-of-concept, randomized clinical trial conducted by researchers at Cornell University Medical Research Institute and Angel H.
Roffo Cancer Institute showed that treatment with arginine (an amino acid building block of protein) can enhance patients with cancer brain metastases The effectiveness of radiotherapy
.

Published on November 5 in "Science Advances", the study titled: "The metabolic adaptation evoked by arginine enhances the effect of radiation in brain metastases" reported 31 patients with brain metastases given arginine before standard radiotherapy (Can be administered orally) the prognosis
.

During the 4-year follow-up period, nearly 78% of patients with brain tumors experienced complete or partial remission, while only 22% of the 32 patients who received a placebo before radiotherapy experienced such remission
.

The test aims to determine the effectiveness of arginine as a "radiosensitizer" to enhance the effect of radiotherapy
.

However, these results and the apparent mechanism of action of arginine suggest that amino acids may be more effective as an anti-cancer therapy
.

As an attending oncologist at the Angel H.
Roffo Cancer Institute in Argentina, he participated in the design and implementation of the trial.
The senior author of the article, Dr.
Leandro Cerchietti, associate professor of medicine in the Department of Hematology and Oncology, said: “Based on these findings, we should continue to study Arginine combined with radiotherapy can also be combined with chemotherapy or immunotherapy, or even arginine alone.
” The trial was also co-led by Dr.
Alfredo Navigante from the Roffo Cancer Institute
.

Arginine, also known as L-arginine, is cheap, widely available, generally considered safe, and relatively easy to enter the brain from the bloodstream
.

The idea of ​​using it to treat cancer stems from the observation that tumors usually help themselves to survive by producing high levels of the related molecule nitric oxide (NO)
.

The latter can regulate many processes in the body, including the flow of blood through blood vessels.
Tumor cells usually up-regulate it to produce a special enzyme called NO synthase, which can synthesize NO from arginine
.

Reducing NO production is a possible way to take advantage of tumor dependence on this molecule, but the effect is not good, partly because of its side effects
.

The researchers hypothesized that increasing the production of NO by increasing the precursor arginine may be beneficial because tumors can use NO to promote their growth and survival, but their production must be kept below a certain limit
.

The lead author of the study, Dr.
Rossella Marullo, said: "Nitric oxide is a reactive molecule that itself or other reactive molecules derived from it can stress and damage cells-so cells can only tolerate these nitric oxides.
," Dr.
Rossella Marullo is a medical instructor in the Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology at Cornell University School of Medicine
.

She added that overloading a high-NO tumor with more NO before radiotherapy may impair the tumor’s ability to repair radiation-induced DNA damage.
In fact, her preclinical trials in mice confirmed this effect.

.

In clinical trials, patients were treated with high-dose arginine or a placebo oral suspension one hour before radiotherapy for brain metastases-representing brain tumors where the primary tumor has spread elsewhere (such as the lungs)
.

After 6 months of radiotherapy, 82% of patients in the arginine group had improved or at least not worsened their neurological symptoms, compared with 20% in the placebo group
.

Most of the arginine-treated patients who died during the study died of cancer spreading to other parts of the body
.

In addition, although metastatic cancer usually has a poor prognosis, there are some patients treated with arginine whose intracerebral and extracerebral tumors disappear, indicating the possibility of a cure
.

Dr.
Cerchietti said that the evidence from this study and previous studies also shows that arginine can not only directly hinder tumor cells, but also enhance the activity of anti-tumor immune cells
.

The promising results prompted the research team to start and plan to further study the use of arginine alone or in combination with other anti-cancer drugs
.

"In principle, any tumor that overexpresses the NO-producing enzyme is susceptible to arginine treatment-this type of tumor is very common," said Dr.
Cerchietti, who is also a member of the Sandra and Edward Meyer Cancer Center at Cornell University Medical Institute.
Members
.

He also warned that this requires further research and that patients should consult their doctors about the use of any supplements outside of clinical trials
.

The arginine preparation used in this study is only available in medical institutions
.

Reference materials: https://medicalxpress.
com/news/2021-11-arginine-inexpensive-oral-drug-therapy.
html Note: This article aims to introduce the progress of medical research and cannot be used as a reference for treatment options
.

If you need health guidance, please go to a regular hospital
.

Recommendation·Activity Practitioners of Action Knowledge-Seeking Causes of Single-Cell Research and Creation Camp Hot·Article Gene Sequencing [BMJ] Benefits all mankind! The pain of rare disease diagnosis will become history, and whole-genome sequencing is an inevitable trend in medical development! Genetic disease treatment 【Science】The era of RNA drugs has arrived, and the future is boundless! It may soon bring new insights into cancer treatment [AACR sub-Journal] for patients with rarer genetic diseases! Gastric Cancer Atlas brings new treatment strategies! Scientific research [Science] Transplanting skin and nerves from genetically modified pigs can help humans, but the new era of xenotransplantation has not yet arrived.
New crown virus [The Lancet] The world's largest study of 12 million people: New crown vaccine booster against Delta How much protection can the aspect bring to you? Cancer Treatment [Science Sub-Journal] How to treat non-small cell lung cancer more effectively? Scientists at MIT have discovered a way to bring hope to patients! Novel Coronavirus [Nature Hot Discussion] Will the 28 million children in the United States benefit from the FDA's move? What is the role and significance of children's vaccinations against the new crown?