14 DAY TRIAL // According to the conclusions of a new study by investigators at the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA), it would appear endometrial cancer cells can be attacked more successfully if the hormonal environment around them is tweaked somewhat.
More specifically, the team found that a lack of estrogen significantly boosts the efficiency of a class of drugs called PARP inhibitors. Conversely, high doses of estrogen in tissue containing cancer cells made them immune to any type of damage from the chemicals.
In a paper published in the November 12 issue of the esteemed journal Molecular Cancer Therapeutics, the team proposes a two-step approach to treating endometrial cancer. This would include artificially lowering the amount of estrogen in the surrounding tissue, and then administering the PARP inhibitors.
In the new study, “we learned that the hormonal milieu may significantly impact tumor response to this therapy. The difference in the response was remarkable. It was like night and day,” says UCLA assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology, Dr. Sanaz Memarzadeh.