A potential therapy to reduce chemotherapy side effects

Cisplatin is a chemotherapy drug
used to treat a variety of cancerous tumors.
However, it does have significant side effects – especially kidney toxicity, which can lead to acute kidney failure
.
In addition, patients treated with cisplatin often report high levels of
neuropathic pain.
Scientists from Inserm, Université de Lille, Lille University Hospital, CNRS and CANTHER and the Institut Pasteur Lille within the Lille Laboratory for Neuroscience and Cognition, in collaboration with researchers from Michigan State University (USA), have identified a drug
that could be a game-changer for patients.
Istrafilin, which has been approved for the treatment of Parkinson's disease, not only reduces the harmful effects of cisplatin, but also improves its anti-tumor properties
.
These findings now need to be confirmed
in clinical trials.
The study was published in the Journal of
Clinical Investigation.

Cisplatin is a chemotherapy drug used to treat several cancers, especially lung, ovarian, and testicular cancers
.
Although cisplatin's anti-tumor efficacy has been proven, it can have side effects
.
These include severe pain (peripheral neuropathy) and kidney damage, leading to acute kidney failure
in one third of cases.
Currently, there is no effective solution to limit patients' exposure to the side effects
of cisplatin.

An international study conducted by Christelle Cauffiez, David Blum and Geoffroy Laumet has now identified a molecule that can reduce cisplatin-induced side effects while preserving or even enhancing its anti-tumor properties
.

Parkinson's medications

Scientists have focused on a drug called Istrafilin, which has been approved in the United States and Japan to treat Parkinson's
.
Biologically, this compound blocks adenosine receptors
on the cell surface.

Blum's team is studying neurodegenerative diseases, and they have previously observed an increase in the density of these receptors in the brains of people with dementia, a phenomenon linked
to the development of these diseases.
Interestingly, Cauffiez's team also observed a similar increase
in adenosine receptors in kidneys treated with cisplatin.

With this in mind, the scientists decided to collaborate with Laumet's laboratory, an expert in neuropathic pain caused by cisplatin, to test the effectiveness
of Istrifiline in reducing the harmful effects of cisplatin.

Findings that need to be confirmed in clinical trials

Their experiments on animal and cellular models did point to the beneficial effects
of Istrifirin.
In mice exposed to cisplatin, the molecule not only reduced kidney damage but also prevented neuropathic pain
.

In addition, in animals receiving Istrafilin, cisplatin's ability to inhibit tumor growth was enhanced—an effect that was subsequently demonstrated
in cell models.

However, before considering widespread application of this treatment to cancer patients, these findings
must first be consolidated by organizing rigorous clinical trials.
The fact that estrod bases have already been used in humans to treat another disease already constitutes an interesting perspective
.

"In fact, we already have a lot of clinical data showing that this molecule is safe
.
While clinical studies are necessary to test its effectiveness in reducing chemotherapy side effects, the possibility of treatment retargeting is a promising prospect for improving patient care in the short term," the researchers noted
.