Posted on 11/10/2020 11:23:46 AM PST by ConservativeMind
A treatment combination involving the addition of a form of vitamin A to the current standard treatment regimen for pancreatic cancer is safe for patients, according to an early phase clinical trial led by Queen Mary University of London.
Following the encouraging results of this phase I trial (STARPAC), published today in Nature Communications, a second clinical trial called STARPAC2 will now investigate whether the addition of this form of vitamin A, called ATRA, to standard chemotherapy can enhance the efficacy of treatment in patients with pancreatic cancer.
STARPAC was launched following research conducted by Professor Kocher's laboratory, which found that using ATRA to treat a particular type of cell, known as stellate cells, within pancreatic tumors, restricted tumor growth. Stellate cells have an important role in normal tissue formation; however, they become corrupted in cancer and help to form an impenetrable barrier, known as the stroma, around the pancreatic tumor.
Treating stellate cells with ATRA (a pre-existing drug used for the treatment of acne and some types of leukemia) was found to restore the vitamin A content of the cells, converting them from tumor-promoting cells to cells which have an anti-cancer effect. By combining this drug with chemotherapy in preclinical models, the team were able to disrupt the communication between the cancer cells and the surrounding stromal cells, leading to a reduction in cancer cell proliferation and invasion.
The trial showed that the addition of ATRA to standard chemotherapy had no additional harmful effects in patients when compared with the standard chemotherapy alone, and also demonstrated that the combination does seem to modify the pancreatic cancer stroma in patients.
(Excerpt) Read more at medicalxpress.com ...
Really interesting.
I (and my kid) took Accutane for cystic acne. Amazing stuff.
Vitamin A is the only thing that cures my Ear problem that is like ETD but has never been officially diagnosed. I take it with zinc and copper. here is someone’s theory as to why it works. Might not be true but it works for me
“Also, the eustachian tube itself may be sticky, due to the lining of the soft tissues being compromised. Vitamin A is needed to properly make the epithelial lining of your soft tissues in your eustachian tubes, your ears, your nose and throat and your eyes (and probably everywhere in your body). If you don’t have enough, your soft tissues get scaly and dry, inflexible. In your ears, that means your eustachian tubes get stuck closed (or maybe stuck open too!) and also the air is lost faster from your ear cavity, causing pressure changes faster than normal. “
“Treating stellate cells... was found to restore the vitamin A content of the cells, converting them from tumor-promoting cells to cells which have an anti-cancer effect.”
Too late for Alex Trebek... RIP
Had a housemate that took Accutane in early 1980s.
He had to stop adding additional vitamin A to his diet, so I got his almost-full bottle of Centrum.
He was a big milk drinker, so eliminating that from his diet was a bummer.
I remember taking my daughter for pregnancy tests at 13 because they put her on that stuff.
It broke my heart to see the looks she got. Accutane is a miracle drug in my home.
Yep. Unfortunately, blood and pregnancy tests are required to take it.
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