A Penn State College of Medicine study shows for the first time in an animal model that ceramide, a naturally occurring substance that prevents the growth of cells, can be administered through the blood stream to target and kill cancer cells. “Ceramide is the substance that accumulates in cancer tissues and helps to kill cancer cells when patients undergo chemotherapy and radiation,” said Mark Kester, Ph.D., professor of pharmacology, Penn State College of Medicine, Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. “By boosting the amount of ceramide through an injection in the bloodstream, our study in mice suggests that we can provide a stronger cancer-killing therapy without additional side effects.” This study titled “Systemic Delivery of Liposomal Short-Chain Ceramide Limits Solid Tumor Growth in Murine Models of Breast Adenocarcinoma” was published in the May issue of Clinical Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.
