AD drug may have role in cancer treatment

According to research conducted by the Detroit, USA-based Bargara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute, the antibiotic clioquinol may have a role in the treatment of prostate cancer. Positive data, from trials of the drug in animal models, were presented at the annual meeting of the American Association of Cancer Research in Los Angeles.

The research showed that clioquinol, which is currently used to slow the progression of Alzheimer's disease, has antitumor activity in mice bearing human prostate caner cells. The institute explained that it has chosen to utilize clioquinol, which is known to bind with copper, after discovering that tumorous cells from prostate, brain colon and lung cancers, have higher levels of the element than non-cancerous cells.