A presentation today at the AACR-NCI-EORTC meeting in Philadelphia offers new insights into the mechanism of action of Antisoma's phase II cancer drug AS1404. Researchers at the Division of Basic Medical Sciences at St George's, University of London have shown that the drug increases levels of various cytokines, biological mediators with profound effects on tumours and the body's response to cancer. These include tumour necrosis factor (TNF), a cytokine already implicated in the drug's action, as well as other mediators not previously associated with AS1404. Examples are RANTES, MCP-1 and GM-CSF, which stimulate the migration of immune cells called monocytes into tumours, and IL-1ss, which like TNF causes 'haemorrhagic necrosis.' This effect -- the death of tumour cells associated with destruction of their blood supply -- is one of the hallmarks of vascular disrupting agents, the class of drugs to which AS1404 belongs.
