ibs.GRANADA scientists determine that sodium selenite can improve the response to pancreatic cancer treatment

The study, published in the prestigious scientific journal Cancers, has been recognized with the biomedical research award from the Royal Academy of Medicine and Surgery of Cádiz

The German pharmaceutical company Biosyn Arzneimittel GmbH has been interested in this Granada study with the intention of developing a possible clinical trial.

Scientists belonging to the research group of Technology Applied to Oncology and Gene Therapy of the Biosanitary Institute of Granada (ibs.GRANADA), led by Dr. Jose Carlos Prados Salazar and Dr. Consolación Melguizo Alonso, have demonstrated the possibilities offered by the use of selenite in the treatment of pancreatic cancer, especially in combination with cytotoxic agents, commonly used in this type of tumor. Selenite is an inorganic salt widely used in food supplements as a source of selenium.

Pancreatic cancer, although not one of the most frequent cancers worldwide, ninth according to WHO data, is one of those with the highest mortality, ranking fourth, both in men and women. About 57.000 people are diagnosed each year in the world with pancreatic cancer, of which about 47.000 die. In Spain, the number of new cases each year is around 6.000. Its high mortality is related to the diagnostic difficulty in early stages, which means that 75% of cases are diagnosed in unresectable or metastatic stages. Likewise, this cancer is characterized by being resistant to the usual treatments in advanced stages, such as chemotherapy. In fact, pancreatic cancer therapy has not changed substantially in the last 20 years.

The relevance of this finding lies in the few therapeutic resources that exist against pancreatic cancer, a cancer that is diagnosed late, is resistant to treatment and has a very low 5-year survival rate (less than 5% in advanced stages III and IV).

Dr. Kevin Doello González from the Virgen de las Nieves University Hospital in Granada and Dr. Raúl Ortiz Quesada from the University of Granada, both members of this group of scientists from ibs.GRANADA, have led this research demonstrating the powerful antitumor capacity of sodium selenite and the synergy that it exerts in combination with gemcitabine against pancreatic adenocarcinoma tumor cells.

One of the main discoveries of the study, published in the prestigious journal Cancers, is that the mechanism of action of the treatment is dependent on the activation of some enzymes that regulate DNA repair (such as the so-called PARP) and that the synergy between selenite and the drug gemcitabine, used in the treatment of pancreatic cancer, is related to factors that intervene in apoptosis or cell death, such as the p38 factor. The results have been obtained in laboratory studies with cell cultures and experimental animals.

This team of scientists from Granada has proven that selenite in combination with gemcitabine is very effective in inhibiting tumor growth and, consequently, increasing survival. These results have been of interest to the German company Biosyn Arzneimittel GmbH who, in contact with this research group, has raised the possibility of carrying out a clinical trial in early phase (I/II) that allows knowing the effectiveness of this treatment in patients with pancreatic cancer.

This research is the continuation of the search for new treatment strategies for pancreatic cancer within the line of research of this ibs.GRANADA research team. The results obtained provide relevant knowledge for the development of a new treatment strategy in this type of tumor with the hope of being able to be taken to a clinical phase.

In addition, this study has received a research award from the Royal Academy of Medicine and Surgery of Cádiz, besides being the thesis doctoral defended by Dr. Kevin Doello at the University of Granada.

About the research group

The ibs.GRANADA Technology Applied to Oncology and Gene Therapy research group, led by Jose Carlos Prados, has been consolidated in recent years thanks to the continuous expansion of its research staff and training staff. Its objective in recent years has focused on the development of new strategies for the treatment of cancer at an experimental level but with a purpose of clinical application, including the application of nanotechnological systems, the study of cancer stem cells, their resistance mechanisms. and its relevance as a target for new therapies, the determination of new molecules/extracts of plant origin with therapeutic or preventive capacity against cancer and the development of antitumor gene therapy systems. In addition, this group develops cancer diagnostic systems based on new technologies, including the determination of gene, protein and metabolomic-based markers, and works on aspects related to regenerative biomedicine, especially in the nervous and musculoskeletal systems.

More information about the group at https://www.ibsgranada.es/grupos-de-investigacion/a01-tecnologia-aplicada-a-oncologia-y-terapia-genica/

Reference

Authors (by signature): Doello K, Mesas C, Quiñonero F, Perazzoli G, Cabeza L, Prados J, Melguizo C, Ortiz R. Title: The Antitumor Activity of Sodium Selenite Alone and in Combination with Gemcitabine in Pancreatic Cancer: An In Vitro and In Vivo Study. Ref: Cancers (Basel). 2021 Jun 25;13(13):3169. doi: 10.3390/cancers13133169