New in the treatment of intestinal oncology

Specialists from Spain have proposed a new target in the therapy of intestinal cancer, which is associated with inflammation.

Scientists are referring to the signaling protein P38 in myeloid immune structures and the insulin-like growth factor IGF-1, which are linked by mutual activity.

The experiments were conducted on rodents suffering from intestinal inflammation.

“The selection of tactics and therapeutic regimen for intestinal oncology should be carried out after assessing the degree of inflammatory reaction in the intestine, as well as after determining the concentration of the hormonal substance IGF-1 in the studied material of patients with inflammatory-associated tumors,” explains the essence of his work Professor Angel Nebreda.

Dr. Nebreda, together with his colleagues from the Institute of Biological and Medical Research in Barcelona, shared details of their project work.

Cancer processes in the colon and rectum occupy the third place among the most common oncological pathologies in world practice. Every year, such diseases are diagnosed in 1.4 million new patients. The lethality of such cancer processes also breaks records and ranks second in countries with developed medicine.

An important risk factor that often leads to the development of oncological processes in the intestine is inflammatory reactions, and in particular, nonspecific ulcerative colitis.

The human immune system strives to fight any external enemy, be it a viral or fungal infection, or protozoa. The intestinal microbiome has gone through all stages of evolution together with humans, achieving the balance that guarantees the body a healthy and calm state. If an inflammatory process develops in the intestines, this fragile balance is disrupted, and the immune defense suffers first and foremost.

The chronic presence of an inflammatory reaction in tissues, constant damage to cellular structures over time ends in their malignant degeneration.

Scientists cannot yet accurately explain the molecular processes and mechanisms of the origin and further development of inflammatory bowel diseases. As a result, doctors continue to treat nonspecific ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease with standard methods for everyone: this is the prescription of large doses of glucocorticoids, immunosuppressants, and over time - removal of the affected part of the intestine and symptomatic supportive treatment.

Anti-inflammatory signaling molecular structures – we are talking about cytokines – can serve as both a factor in intestinal regeneration and an activator of the malignant process. Therefore, scientists from Spain paid special attention to myeloid cells, which play an important role in oncogenesis. The scientists were primarily interested in the protein substance P38.

During experiments on rodents, in which an inflammatory process in the intestine was initiated, the following fact was discovered: P38 signaling within myeloid structures played a basic role in the occurrence of inflammation-associated cancer. When the protein substance was suppressed by appropriate medications or genetic manipulations, the degree of inflammation in the intestine was reduced, and at the same time the tumor load was reduced.

According to the authors, insulin-like growth factor IGF-1 may become a necessary target in the treatment regimen for patients suffering from inflammatory bowel diseases. "This hormonal substance has a strong influence on immunity and the quality of the tumor microenvironment," explained Dr. Nebreda.

Details of the scientists’ discovery can be read in the scientific publication EMBO Molecular Medicine.

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