美国研究表明小细胞肺癌不应视为单一疾病

   在对老鼠的一个新研究表明，根据细胞的分子指纹，一种类型的肺癌可以区分为两种不同的疾病。

   根据美国犹他大学亨斯迈癌症研究所（HCI）研究人员的研究结果表明两种类型的小细胞肺癌可能被区别治疗。

    英国癌症研究院的Greystoke博士说：“这个重要的研究给了我们关于这种类型的肺癌如何迅速地抗化疗的新信息”。肺癌通常被定义为小细胞或非小细胞。但是近发表在《癌症细胞》期刊上的结果表明，在小细胞肺癌当中，有可能有进一步的不同。

   专家认为，该发现可能导致新的治疗方式靶向每个具体肿瘤类型。

   “小细胞肺癌的存活率很低，如何治疗这种疾病在过去20年中没有真正的改变。我们急需新的药物来治疗癌症，”来自英国癌症研究的纽卡斯尔癌症中心的Alastair Greystoke博士说。

   “对于这种疾病，研究中使用的药物已经显示出了一定的潜力。所以，这些新研究结果将会帮助我们实现如何好的靶向小细胞肺癌。”

小细胞肺癌患者没有有效的基因测试来选择不同的治疗方式。所以，他们在很大程度上都是采取相同的治疗方式，HCI的研究人员，该研究的Trudy Oliver说。

    但是对老鼠的新研究表明，不是所有的小细胞肿瘤反应都相同。如果通过进一步的研究，在人类身上显示是相同的结果，这就可能终改变如何治疗一些病人。

该小组创建了小鼠中称为C-MYC的小细胞肿瘤子群的个已知复制品。该组基于遗传差异，约占1/5的病人患有小细胞肺癌。

    他们在显微镜下发现 C-MYC肿瘤与其它肿瘤看起来不同，而且非常具有侵略性-生长和扩散的更快。此外，他们对治疗的反应也不同。

这个新研究也发现了一种可能对抗这些侵略性肿瘤有效的新药物。

该药物称为极光激酶抑制剂 - 改善小鼠化疗时候的存活率。

尽管化疗大约在五分之四的患者中开始有效，但是肿瘤能够快速地形成对治疗的抗性。

   “这项重要的研究为我们提供了关于这种类型的肺癌如何迅速变得抗化疗的新信息。”Greystoke博士补充说。

    “更重要的是，它告诉我们如何靶向这个难题。”（麻省医疗国际漆琳编译）

Study suggests small cell lung cancer should not be treated as single disease

    A new study in mice suggests that a type of lung cancer could be split into two different diseases based on cells’ molecular fingerprints.

    The findings suggest that the two types of small cell lung cancer could each be treated differently, according to the researchers from the Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah in the US.

   “This important research gives us new information on how this type of lung cancer becomes resistant to chemotherapy so quickly” – Dr Greystoke, Cancer Research UK

    Lung cancers are usually defined as either small cell or non-small cell. But these latest results, published in the journal Cancer Cell, suggest there may be further differences among the small cell tumours.

Experts believe that the discovery could lead to new forms of treatment that target each specific tumour type. 

   “Survival for small cell lung cancer is low and how we treat the disease hasn’t really changed over the last 20 years. We urgently need new drugs for this hard to treat cancer,” said Dr Alastair Greystoke from the Cancer Research UK Newcastle Cancer Centre.

    “The drugs used in this study have shown some promise in this disease. So these latest findings will help us work out how best to target them in small cell lung cancer.”

    There are no genetic tests available for small cell lung cancer patients to select different treatments, so they are all treated in much the same way, says Professor Trudy Oliver, an investigator at HCI who led the study.

    But the new research shows that, in mice, small cell tumours don’t all act alike. If further research shows the same results in humans, this could eventually change how some patients are treated.

The team created the first known replica of a small cell tumour subgroup called C-MYC in mice. This group, which is based on genetic differences, makes up around 1 in 5 patients with small cell lung cancer. 

They found that C-MYC tumours look different to other tumours under the microscope and are very aggressive – growing and spreading faster. And they also responded differently to treatment.

    The new research also found a drug that could be effective against these aggressive tumours. 

    The drug – called an Aurora kinase inhibitor – improved survival for mice when combined with chemotherapy.

    While chemotherapy starts out effective in around 4 in 5 patients, the tumours can quickly develop resistance to the treatment. 

   “This important research gives us new information on how this type of lung cancer becomes resistant to chemotherapy so quickly.” Dr Greystoke added. 

  “Even more importantly, it tells us how we can target this problem.”

媒体链接：美国研究表明小细胞肺癌不应视为单一疾病