New study shows that a cough medicine ingredient could effectively treat prostate cancer

Baltimore, MD -- A study published today in the December issue of the European medical journal Anticancer Research demonstrates that an ingredient used in a common cough suppressant may be useful in treating advanced prostate cancer. Researchers found that noscapine, which has been used in cough medication for nearly 50 years, reduced tumor growth in mice by 60% and limited the spread of tumors by 65% without causing harmful side effects.

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among men in the United States. The American Cancer Society estimates that 186,320 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2008 and 28,660 will die from it. One man in 6 will get prostate cancer during his lifetime. Although slow-growing in most men, the cancer is considered advanced when it spreads beyond the prostate. There is no known cure.

The laboratory study was a joint effort by Dr. Israel Barken of the Prostate Cancer Research and Educational Foundation, Moshe Rogosnitzky of MedInsight Research Institute, and Dr. Jack Geller of The University of California San Diego. Noscapine has previously been studied as a treatment for breast, ovarian, colon, lung and brain cancer and for various lymphomas, chronic lymphocytic leukemia and melanoma. This study, however, is the first to demonstrate its effectiveness in treating prostate cancer.

Noscapine is a naturally-occurring substance, a non-addictive derivative of opium. As a natural substance, noscapine cannot be patented, which has limited the potential for clinical trials. Rogosnitzky notes that drug companies are generally unwilling to underwrite expensive clinical trials without being able to recoup their investment. A synthetic derivative of noscapine has been patented but has not yet reached the clinical testing phase.

Since noscapine is approved for use in many countries as a cough suppressant, however, it is available to doctors to prescribe for other uses as well. This common practice is known as "off-label" prescription. Noscapine is increasingly being used off-label to treat a variety of cancers. Dr. Barken used noscapine to treat a handful of prostate cancer patients before retiring from clinical practice. Encouraged by the success of these treatments, his foundation funded the laboratory study being reported in the December 2008 edition of Anticancer Research.

As founder and medical director of the Prostate Cancer Research and Educational Foundation in San Diego, Dr. Barken is encouraging academic institutions to follow up this successful laboratory research with a human clinical trial. He has pioneered a web-based patient tracking system that will greatly reduce the cost of the trial while cutting the time necessary to complete the study. Using the web-based tracking system will also allow doctors outside the U.S. to enroll patients in the research.

Rogosnitzky, director of research at MedInsight Research Institute, points out the significant advantages that noscapine could present as a treatment for prostate cancer. "Noscapine is effective without the unpleasant side effects associated with other common prostate cancer treatments. Because noscapine has been used as a cough-suppressant for nearly half a century, it already has an extensive safety record. This pre-clinical study shows that the dose used to effectively treat prostate cancer in the animal model was also safe."

Hormone therapy and chemotherapy, along with radiation and surgery, are currently used to slow the progression of advanced prostate cancer. Side effects resulting from these treatments include impotence, incontinence, fatigue, anemia, brittle bones, hair loss, reduced appetite, nausea and diarrhea. No toxic side effects were observed in the laboratory study of noscapine.

MedInsight Research Institute is committed to bringing relief to those who suffer from cancer or chronic medical conditions by making doctors aware of commercially unsponsored medications, off-label (secondary) uses for approved medicines, long-lost therapies, and specialized tests that enable treatment to be tailored to the individual. As a US-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit, the institute works to bridge the ever-widening gap between medical research and actual medical practice. MedInsight's website is www.medinsight.org.

PC-REF is a 501(c)(3) non-profit foundation based in San Diego, California. It was founded by Dr. Israel Barken in 1997. PC-REF focuses on patient education, and provides financial support for innovative prostate cancer research projects. Its focus is on research ideas that can benefit today's patients. PC-REF's web site is www.pcref.org.

This article says they actually gave the cough syrup to the mice. Vicks Dry Cough actually has this drug in it.

Cough syrup - the new cure for prostate cancer
By PAT HAGAN
Last updated at 17:51 06 March 2007

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Noscapine in cough syrup could fight prostate cancer

An ingredient used in cough medicine for more than 50 years could be a powerful new treatment for prostate cancer.

Noscapine, a drug derived from opium, has been found to stunt tumour growth and reduce the risk of cancer spreading by up to 65 per cent.

Now other studies are under way to see if it could help fight cancer of the breast, lungs and ovaries, as well as lymphoma - a tumour that affects the lymph nodes under the arm.

Although the drug’s anti-cancer properties were first recognised back in the Sixties, in-depth studies have only taken place in recent years as drug companies have stepped up the search for new and powerful cancer treatments.

The drug is used in over-thecounter products, such as Vicks Dry Cough medicine, because it is highly effective at stopping coughs.

Although opium is the main source of noscapine, it is also found in tiny quantities in tomatoes and cabbage leaves.

The latest findings, by U.S. scientists, were presented at a recent prostate cancer conference in Colorado.

Experts at the Prostate Cancer Research and Educational Foundation in San Diego carried out laboratory tests to verify the drug’s ability to fight cancer.

Mice were fed doses of the drug and their cancers were closely monitored to see what effect the cough-syrup ingredient had.

Study leader Dr Israel Barken, who claims to have been using noscapine on prostate cancer patients for more than a decade, said the results confirmed the drug was effective and safe.

It slowed tumour growth by 60 per cent and reduced the risk of it spreading to other parts of the body by 65 per cent.

‘Incredibly, this was achieved with no toxicity,’ he said. ‘It demonstrates noscapine’s potential as an effective anticancer agent - and a very safe one, too.’

Prostate cancer is the most common type of tumour in men in the UK, accounting for almost one in four male cancers. Each year, nearly 32,000 men are diagnosed with the disease and more than 10,000 die from it.

Many patients undergo surgery to remove the prostate gland, or are given a treatment called brachy-therapy, in which radioactive seeds are injected into the tumour to kill it.

Advanced cases of cancer are treated with drugs to lower the amount of testosterone in the body. In many cases of prostate cancer, the male hormone speeds up tumour growth.

Dr Moche Rogosnitzky, from the MedInsight Research Institute in Delaware, America, which helped fund the research, said: ‘Noscapine has been used for cough suppression for close to half a century. Recent discoveries are pointing to its effectiveness in treating a broad variety of cancers.’

The drug is thought to work by interfering with the way cancer cells divide, stopping tumours from growing rapidly.

Previous studies involving human breast cancer tumours implanted into mice showed the cough-medicine drug was able to shrink the lump by 80 per cent within three weeks.

One of its biggest advantages could be that it seems to work well when taken as a pill, capsule or syrup. Currently, with chemotherapy, most drugs have to be injected.

Dr Kat Arney, from Cancer Research UK, said that although noscapine had still to be tested on cancer in humans, it could be an effective new treatment.

‘Noscapine could prove useful as a prostate cancer therapy. It will be interesting to see if the results from clinical trials in humans show if it is more effective than existing treatments.’

However, further research is required and, in the meantime, the researchers advise against taking cough mixture as a preventive.

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