Estudio de la eficacia anti-tumural de pro-enzimas pancreáticas frente a células madre cancerígenas

Abstract

The lack of an effective treatment against cancer is due to its enormous inter- and intratumoral heterogeneity. Within the tumor mass, cancer stem cells (CSC) are characterized by being undifferentiated and dormant; this subpopulation is responsible of tumour progression and metastasis. We propose a new model of tumor development that integrates chronic inflammation, deaminase deregulation, intratumoral genetic diversity, and phenotypic plasticity. We have demonstrated the anticancer effect of a formulation of pancreatic (pro)enzymes (PRP) composed of Trypsinogen and Chymotrypsinogen A. The effects of PRP on CSCs derived from the BxPC-3 pancreatic cancer cell line were analyzed and an inhibition of the stem phenotype of CSCs and a reduction in their aggressiveness, both in vitro and in vivo, was found. PRP inhibited tumour initiation, tumour progression and the intratumoral fibrotic tissue.