Word: cancers
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...components, but then got bogged down in a debate about which of these components to pursue. After listening to the pro and cons, Nichols decided for them--they would explore both chemical pathways. In the test tube, one compound quickly proved to be superior. "It was killing all the cancer cell lines we were throwing at it," says Pamukcu...
Encouraged, Nichols' scientists began testing the compound, designated FGN-1, on lab animals. It seemed effective against several types of cancers--breast, lung and bladder--but the animals lost weight. That raised a question: Was it the drug or the weight loss that was providing the anti-cancer action? When the scientists repeated the experiments at lower doses, the animals improved without losing weight. "We got a beautiful dose response," says Pamukcu...
Still, Nichols wanted to know how FGN-1 worked. Until then, colon cancer was thought to be a disease of uncontrolled growth. Nichols' scientists suspected instead that the problem was uncontrolled death. Cells lining the intestines usually live only 72 hours. But while cells are born at the usual rate in FAP patients, some fail to self-destruct, producing an excess. Johns Hopkins' Giardiello eventually showed that drugs like sulindac work by restoring the natural process of cell death in the colon. Precisely how it does that, however, remains unknown...
...just as he seemed on the verge of a great success, Nichols began losing weight. This time the diagnosis was stomach cancer. Nichols launched into a search for yet another treatment. But the malignant cells were too aggressive. "He just finally realized he wasn't going to come back from it," says Lynn. Nichols died in May 1996, at 43, but by then he knew the work was probably well enough along on FGN-1 for it to be there for his son and other kids...
Last year Cell Pathways began tests on children. The first child to be enrolled in the study was Eric Nichols, 11, who had been found to have his father's disease. Other studies are showing that related drugs may be effective against a broad range of cancers, including colon cancer, the No. 2 cause of cancer deaths...