The potential for substance P antagonists as anti-cancer agents in brain tumours.

The potential for substance P antagonists as anti-cancer agents in brain tumours. Recent Pat CNS Drug Discov. 2013 Apr;8(1):13-23 Authors: Harford-Wright E, Lewis KM, Vink R Abstract Despite recent advances in cancer treatment and diagnosis, the prognosis for patients with CNS tumours remains extremely poor. This is, in part, due to the difficulty in completely removing tumours surgically, and also because of the presence of the blood brain barrier, which can prevent the entry of chemotherapeutic agents typically used in cancer treatment. Despite the presence of the blood brain barrier, tumour cells are capable of entering and colonising the brain to form secondary brain tumours. Additionally, tumour related disruption of the blood brain barrier is associated with the clinical presentation of many patients, with accompanying increases in intracranial pressure due, in part, to the development of vasogenic oedema. Vasogenic oedema results because the newly formed angiogenic vessels within brain tumours do not retain the highly selective properties of the blood brain barrier, and thus allow for the extravasation of plasma proteins and water into the brain parenchyma. Tachykinins, and in particular substance P, have been implicated in blood brain barrier disruption and the genesis of cerebral oedema in other CNS insults via a process known as neurogenic inflammation. Recent evidence suggests that substance P may play a similar role in CN...
Source: Recent Patents on CNS Drug Discovery - Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Tags: Recent Pat CNS Drug Discov Source Type: research