New drugs for brain tumors? Insights from chemical probing of neural stem cells.
The cancer stem cell hypothesis posits a direct relationship between normal neural stem cells (NSCs) and brain tumour stem cells (BTSCs). New insights into human brain tumour biology and treatment should thus emerge from the study of normal NSCs. These parallels have recently been exploited in a chemical genetic screen that identified a broad repertoire of neurotransmission modulators as inhibitors of both NSC and BTSC expansion in vitro. Prompted by these findings, we sought epidemiological support for effects of neuromodulation of brain tumours in vivo. We present observations from data collected from retrospective clinical studies suggesting that patients with a wide variety of neuropsychiatric disorders have decreased brain tumour incidence. We speculate that this reduction may derive from the use of drugs that collaterally affect the normal neural precursor compartment, and thereby limit a population that is suspected to give rise to brain tumours. Standard chronic neuropharmacological interventions in clinical neuropsychiatric care are thus candidates for redeployment as brain cancer therapeutics.
Diamandis
Phedias
P
The Arthur and Sonia Labatt Brain Tumour Research Centre, The Hospital for Sick Children and University of Toronto, 555 University Avenue, Toronto, Canada.
Sacher
Adrian G
AG
Tyers
Mike
M
Dirks
Peter B
PB
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D015195:Drug Design; D006801:Humans; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D008959:Models, Neurological; D009474:Neurons / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents