Research Reveals Metabolism-Targeting Drug Can Alleviate Cancer-Related Fatigue Without Disrupting Cancer Treatments
Cancer-related fatigue (CRF) is a prevalent and debilitating condition that significantly diminishes the quality of life for patients undergoing cancer treatment. Unfortunately, there are presently no effective pharmaceutical treatments available to address the wide range of symptoms associated with CRF.
In a recent study conducted by researchers at Yale Cancer Center, they discovered that the metabolism-targeting drug, dichloroacetate (DCA), effectively mitigated cancer-related fatigue (CRF) in mice without compromising cancer treatments. This breakthrough could potentially pave the way for future research into CRF and the development of new therapies for patients.
Published in the American Journal of Physiology-Endocrinology and Metabolism on October 2, the study is significant because it identifies DCA as the first intervention, particularly focused on metabolism, to address the entirety of the CRF syndrome in preclinical models. Rachel Perry, a senior author of the study and a member of Yale Cancer Center, emphasized this achievement.
The research utilized mouse models with tumors to investigate DCA’s effectiveness in managing CRF in melanoma patients. The results showed that DCA did not impact tumor growth rates or compromise the effectiveness of immunotherapy or chemotherapy in two mouse cancer models. Furthermore, DCA significantly preserved physical function and motivation in mice with late-stage tumors.
The data also suggests that DCA treatment could have multiple positive effects, including the reduction of oxidative stress in the muscle tissue of tumor-bearing mice. As a result, researchers believe that DCA could become a transformative approach in the future, serving as an adjuvant therapy for the treatment of cancer-related fatigue.
Rachel Perry, who is also an assistant professor of medicine (endocrinology) and of cellular and molecular physiology at Yale School of Medicine, expressed hope that this research would serve as a foundation for future clinical trials involving dichloroacetate, an FDA-approved drug for another condition (lactic acidosis), in addressing the debilitating syndrome of cancer-related fatigue.
