Cardiac and kidney hormones cure up to 86% of human small-cell lung cancers in mice.
BACKGROUND
Four cardiac hormones synthesized by the same gene, i.e. atrial natriuretic peptide, vessel dilator, long acting natriuretic peptide and kaliuretic peptide, and the kidney hormone urodilatin have anticancer effects in vitro.


METHODS
These cardiac hormones and urodilatin were infused subcutaneously for 28 days with weekly fresh hormones since they lose biological effects at body temperature for more than a week at 0.3 nm kg(-1) body weight in athymic mice bearing human small-cell lung carcinomas.


RESULTS
Long acting natriuretic peptide, vessel dilator, kaliuretic peptide, atrial natriuretic peptide and urodilatin eliminated 86%, 71%, 57%, 43% (P < 0.001 for the cardiac hormones) and 25% (P < 0.05; urodilatin) of the human small-cell lung carcinomas. The treated small-cell lung carcinomas that were not cured grew rapidly, similar to the untreated controls, whose volume was 7 fold larger in 1 week, 18-fold increased in 2 weeks, 39-fold increased in 3 weeks, 63-fold increased in 1 month and 97-fold increased in volume in 6 weeks. One vessel dilator treated small-cell lung carcinoma animal developed a large tumour (8428 mm3 volume) on treatment and this tumour was eliminated with utilizing atrial natriuretic peptide and then long acting natriuretic peptide sequentially.


CONCLUSIONS
Four cardiac hormones eliminate up to 86% of human small-cell lung carcinomas in athymic mice. Urodilatin can also eliminate small-cell lung carcinomas but at a lower cure rate of 25%. Unresponsive lesions can be eliminated by utilizing different hormones synthesized by the atrial natriuretic peptide gene in a sequential manner.
Eichelbaum
E J
EJ
Department of Internal Medicine, University of South Florida Cardiac Hormone Centre and James A. Haley Veterans Medical Centre, Tampa, Florida, USA.
Sun
Y
Y
Alli
A A
AA
Gower
W R
WR
Vesely
D L
DL
D000818:Animals; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D009320:Atrial Natriuretic Factor / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D018288:Carcinoma, Small Cell / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D051379:Mice; D008819:Mice, Nude; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis / Q000188:drug therapy; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011498:Protein Precursors / Q000627:therapeutic use; D017461:Receptors, Atrial Natriuretic Factor / Q000032:analysis
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D010446:Peptide Fragments; D011498:Protein Precursors; C075322:atrial natriuretic factor precursor (79-98); C054547:atrial natriuretic factor prohormone (1-30), human; C054548:atrial natriuretic factor prohormone (31-67); C056452:Ularitide; D009320:Atrial Natriuretic Factor; D017461:Receptors, Atrial Natriuretic Factor