Immunosuppressant Drug Prevents Tobacco Induced Lung Cancer in Mice – April 1, 2007

Rapamycin, an FDA-approved drug normally used to help prevent the body from rejecting organ and bone marrow transplants and also used to coat cardiac stents, was highly effective in preventing the development of tobacco-related lung tumors in mice. In a study published in the April 1, 2007 issue of Clinical Cancer Research, researchers at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health, found that mice that were administered rapamycin one week after exposure to a very common tobacco-specific carcinogen showed a 90 percent decrease in the number of tumors, a 74 percent decrease in tumor size, and fewer abnormalities within their cancer cells.