Elesclomol drives cell death by inducing ROS

USA-based Synta Pharmaceuticals says that findings published in a recent issue of the journal Molecular Cancer Therapeutics describe the novel mechanism-of-action of elesclomol. The firm says that its drug candidate drives programmed cell death in cancer cells through the selective induction of oxidative stress.

Elesclomol is currently in a global, pivotal Phase III trial in combination with paclitaxel for the treatment of metastatic melanoma. "These results confirm that elesclomol powerfully and selectively induces apoptosis in cancer cells by increasing the level of reactive oxygen species beyond sustainable levels," said James Barsoum, senior vice president of research at Synta.

"Elevated ROS levels and susceptibility to further increases in ROS are fundamental characteristics of cancer cells that differentiate them from normal non-cancerous cells. Exploiting this special vulnerability represents a novel approach to selectively targeting and killing cancer cells. The findings also suggest that elesclomol can substantially enhance the efficacy of certain other anti-cancer therapies when given in combination. These results collectively indicate the potential of oxidative stress induction as a new therapeutic option for treating multiple types of cancers, either as a single agent or in combination. We are excited by the potential of this new mechanism category, particularly for difficult-to-treat cancers such as melanoma that have not been responsive to chemotherapy or other prior approaches," he added.