Xenical, the anti-obesity drug from pharmaceutical company Roche, has provided a surprising discovery for scientists at the Wake Forest University; it can kill cancer cells and even slow down tumors. The same enzyme blocking properties of Xenical that are successful in promoting weight loss have also been found to block a certain protein needed by cancer kills. This has provided hope that a whole new range of more potent cancer drugs will be designed thanks to Xenical.
How does Xenical work?
Xenical was first approved by the FDA for use as an anti-obesity pill in 1999 and since then it has gained a reputation as a highly successful weight loss treatment. Xenical, which is also known as Orlistat, helps to stop approximately 30 percent of the fat consumed from being broken down and stored as fat on the body. Unlike many other popular weight loss drugs (such as Acomplia and Reductil) that work on the brain, Xenical blocks enzymes in the digestive system, known as lipases.
Xenical takes advantage of the fact that without lipase, the body will struggle to breakdown any fat consumed and instead much will be removed from the body through bowel movements, rather than absorbed. By working this way, Xenical has helped millions of overweight and obese patients successfully lose weight and reach their weight-loss goals.
However the success of Xenical as a cancer treatment does not stem from its ability to block lipase but another enzyme known as fatty acid synthase, which has an elevated presence in various cancer cells and tumors. By only targeting synthase and inhibiting it with Xenical, the harmful cells which rely upon it cease to survive.
Xenical – a new cancer treatment drug?
“High levels of fatty acid synthase correlate with a poor prognosis so it is a great treatment target,” said Steven Kridel, PhD, an assistant professor in the Department of Cancer Biology. “This makes an exciting treatment target because theoretically you don’t have to worry about harming nearby healthy tissue”.
The scientists at Wake Forest University have confirmed that although this discovery is a great step in the right direction for cancer research, it will certainly not cause an influx in sales for Roche and their weight loss drug Xenical.
Xenical cannot be used solely as a cancer cell killing treatment due to the way that it is designed to work only in the digestive tract and not any other parts of the body. It is hoped the findings from the research conducted will however make way for a whole new range of potent cancer treatments. The findings of this study have been published and are available to view in the online edition of Nature Structural and Molecular Biology.
