A new study has found that a common antidepressant called vortioxetine is effective against brain tumours in lab tests, even for aggressive glioblastomas.
A new study has found that a common antidepressant called vortioxetine is “unexpectedly effective” against brain tumours. Science Daily reports that researchers in Zurich have discovered that the antidepressant, which is already approved for market use and widely available, can kill cancer cells in aggressive glioblastoma brain tumours.
The research team, led by ETH Zurich Professor Berend Snijder, have found that in laboratory tests, the antidepressant vortioxetine is capable of crossing the blood-brain barrier, which is a major stumbling block in the progression of effective brain tumour treatments.
The study was carried out using pharmacoscopy, which is a method of testing multiple substances at once on cancer tissue. The researchers tested up to 130 different neuroactive agents such as Parkinson’s medication, antipsychotics and antidepressants. Of all the drugs tested, vortioxetine had the most efficacy.
The blood-brain barrier is a semi-permeable barrier that allows necessary nutrients to pass through, while protecting the brain from harmful substances. It’s essential to maintain proper neural functioning, but it can also prevent chemotherapy drugs from reaching cancer cells in the brain.
Researchers into neural diseases such as brain tumours, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease are currently exploring ways to bypass the blood-brain barrier, which will hopefully lead to further discoveries such as the recent development in Zurich.
It could offer a new treatment for patients with tumour types that are very difficult to remove with traditional surgery, such as glioblastomas.
The drug is comparatively cheap, at £40 for 28 tablets, and it can be potentially combined with standard brain tumour drugs to provide a breakthrough in treatment. The researchers are now starting the process of recruiting brain tumour patients to take part in a clinical trial.
Michael Weller, Professor at the University Hospital Zurich, Director of the Department of Neurology and coauthor of the study published in Nature Medicine said:
“The advantage of vortioxetine is that it is safe and very cost-effective. As the drug has already been approved, it doesn’t have to undergo a complex approval procedure and could soon supplement the standard therapy for this deadly brain tumour.”
However, Prof Weller pointed out that the research is still in the very early stages, and there are many questions still to answer. He also warned people with brain tumours not to use the drug in an attempt to treat themselves without expert medical supervision.
He explained: “We don’t yet know whether the drug works in humans and what dose is required to combat the tumour, which is why clinical trials are necessary. Self-medicating would be an incalculable risk.” Prof Snijder added: “So far, it’s only been proven effective in cell cultures and in mice.”
However, Prof Snijder remains optimistic about the findings: “We started with this terrible tumour and found existing drugs that fight against it. We show how and why they work, and soon we’ll be able to test them on patients.”
Dr Karen Noble, Director of Research, Policy and Innovation at Brain Tumour Research said: “Although this research is still in its early stages, it is encouraging to see a potential new treatment for glioblastoma – a tumour type that has seen no changes in standard of care for 20 years.”
“At Brain Tumour Research we have always been supportive of attempts to boost drug repurposing as they can quickly be translated into the clinic. Repurposed drugs, such as vortioxetine, already have a proven safety profile, which helps reduce the amount of testing required, speeding up the process.”
“As with all breakthroughs related to repurposed medications that have yet to go through disease-specific clinical trials, we encourage patients and their families not to self-medicate but to speak with their doctor, as the risks are unknown, especially with strong antidepressants.”
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