Scientists have shown that a drug combination slows cancer cell growth in a type of non-small cell lung cancer when tested in the lab, offering potential for developing new treatments in the future, according to a Cancer Research UK funded study published in the British Journal of Cancer.

The drug combination delivers a double whammy to the way the KRAS gene makes cancer cells grow, which is estimated to be mutated in 15 to 25 per cent of people with non-small cell lung adenocarcinomas – a disease affecting around 10,400 people in England each year.

The study, by scientists at The Institute of Cancer Research, London and The Institut Gustave Roussy in France, looked at whether blocking the functions of two proteins called MEK and m-TOR would stop or slow down the growth of non-small cell lung adenocarcinoma cells in the laboratory.

The two proteins are switched on by the KRAS gene which controls how and when the cells divide.

When the gene is mutated cells divide uncontrollably and can develop into cancer.

The scientists used the drug trametinib to block MEK, and AZD2014 to block m-TOR.

They found that blocking m-TOR slowed cancer cell growth more than MEK.

But using the MEK and m-TOR inhibitors together was better at stopping the cancer cell growth compared to either drug alone.

Where current clinical trials concentrate on blocking MEK in KRAS driven lung cancers, this research suggests this could be improved by adding m-TOR inhibitors.

Lead author, Dr Udai Banerji, Cancer Research UK scientist at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, said: “There aren’t yet any drugs to treat cancers with the KRAS mutation, so our study has given us a direction to focus future research on. We’re really delighted to have been able to get at the KRAS gene in laboratory conditions. This is still early work so we’ll need more years of research to test the drug combination – checking that it’s safe for patients and finding the right dose – before it could be used routinely in the clinic.”

Nell Barrie, Cancer Research UK’s senior science information manager, said: “Lung cancer is the biggest cancer killer in the UK, partly because it tends to be diagnosed at a late stage when it’s already spread. Only seven per cent of people diagnosed with lung cancer survive their disease for ten years or more, and this is why Cancer Research UK is prioritising investment into lung cancer research to save more lives from this disease.”

Source: Cancer Research UK