The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 269 No 7214 p313
7 September 2002

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Cancer Research (cancerres.aacrjournals.org)

Novel antimetastatic agent enhances antitumour effects of tamoxifen

The addition of a novel antimetastatic agent, Å6, to tamoxifen enhances the antitumour effects of tamoxifen, researchers say. Å6 is a peptide derived from urokinase plasminogen activator, a molecule associated with increased tumour-cell invasion and metastasis in several types of malignancies, and is being developed by Ångstrom Pharmaceuticals.

Researchers evaluated the effects of Å6 alone and in combination with tamoxifen on estrogen-receptor positive rat breast cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. They say that the addition of Å6 to hormone therapy enhances the antitumour effects through increased inhibition of angiogenesis and induction of tumour-cell death. The combination may be "a potential therapeutic approach to suppress breast cancer progression, an approach that may improve the efficacy of current first-line therapy," they conclude.

The study is published in Cancer Research (2002;62:468).