Open Biol. 2013 Jan 8;3(1):120144. doi: 10.1098/rsob.120144.

Oxidants, antioxidants and the current incurability of metastatic cancers.

Watson J1.

Author information

1

Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, New York, NY 11724, USA. berejka@cshl.edu

Abstract

The vast majority of all agents used to directly kill cancer cells (ionizing radiation, most chemotherapeutic agents and some targeted therapies) work through either directly or indirectly generating reactive oxygen species that block key steps in the cell cycle. As mesenchymal cancers evolve from their epithelial cell progenitors, they almost inevitably possess much-heightened amounts of antioxidants that effectively block otherwise highly effective oxidant therapies. Also key to better understanding is why and how the anti-diabetic drug metformin(the world's most prescribed pharmaceutical product) preferentially kills oxidant-deficient mesenchymal p53(- -) cells. A much faster timetable should be adopted towards developing more new drugs effective against p53(- -) cancers.

PMID:

 

23303309

 

PMCID:

 

PMC3603456

 

DOI:

 

10.1098/rsob.120144