Antidepressants plus blood-thinners slow down brain cancer

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-09/epfd-apb092415.php

Public Release: 24-Sep-2015
Antidepressants plus blood-thinners slow down brain cancer
EPFL scientists have found that combining antidepressants with anticoagulants slows down brain tumors (gliomas) in mice
Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne

Gliomas are aggressive brain tumors arising from the brain's supporting glial cells. They account for about a third of all brain tumors, and hold the highest incidence and mortality rate among primary brain cancer patients, creating an urgent need for effective treatments. Certain antidepressants already in the market could lower the risk of gliomas, but there has been little evidence to support their use in patients. Now, scientists at EPFL have discovered that tricyclic antidepressants combined with anticoagulant drugs can actually slow down gliomas by causing the cancer cells to eat themselves. The study is published in Cancer Cell.

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The results showed that the drugs work together against the cancer cells. Specifically, the drugs disrupt a biochemical pathway in the glioma tumor cells that controls a mechanism known as "autophagy" - which literally means "to eat oneself". Low-level, controlled autophagy is a recycling mechanism that actually helps a cell to survive under stressful conditions. But, at excessively high levels, it can be lethal to cells.

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Although each drug can stimulate autophagy by itself, neither has any significant impact on the mortality of the mice with glioma. But when the EPFL scientists combined the two drugs, the lifespan of the mice doubled.

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"This strategy is at an early stage and requires further more work to assess its full potential." Following up on this, the team is now making plans for early clinical trials.