CanToo researcher Doctor Vasilios Panagopoulos and colleagues have shown that blocking the enzyme myeloperoxidase slowed tumour progression in preclinical models of multiple myeloma, suggesting this could be a promising treatment approach for this blood cancer.
Given that only three out of ten people with multiple myeloma will survive beyond ten years of their diagnosis, there is "a real need for the development of new, well-tolerated therapies to overcome treatment resistance and prevent patients from relapsing", explains Dr Panagopoulos, the co-senior author of the study.
In the study, published in the British Journal of Haematology, the researchers examined how the enzyme myeloperoxidase impacts the bone marrow microenvironment and how this might affect the progression of multiple myeloma.
What did the researchers do?
The study used preclinical models of multiple myeloma to mimic the disease’s progression in humans.
Using these models, the researchers determined:
- How much myeloperoxidase was normally present
- How tumour cells behaved when myeloperoxidase levels were high
- Whether blocking myeloperoxidase with a chemical inhibitor affected tumour growth.
Pictured right: Doctor Vasilios Panagopoulos
What did they find?
In laboratory experiments and preclinical models of disease:
- Myeloperoxidase was abundant in areas where tumour cells were growing, suggesting it plays a role in shaping the tumour’s environment.
- High myeloperoxidase activity encouraged tumour cells to grow and proliferate and appeared to suppress some of the body’s own anti-tumour immune responses.
- When myeloperoxidase activity was blocked with a specific inhibitor, tumour growth in preclinical disease models was significantly reduced, suggesting a potential new therapeutic approach.
Why is this significant?
This study suggests that myeloperoxidase isn’t just a bystander - it may actively help create a bone-marrow environment where multiple myeloma cells can thrive and grow. By promoting growth factors and suppressing immune activity, myeloperoxidase helps the tumour get a foothold.
The fact that blocking myeloperoxidase slowed tumour growth in preclinical models of disease raises the possibility that myeloperoxidase-targeting drugs could become a new treatment strategy for multiple myeloma. However, more research is required to confirm whether myeloperoxidase plays the same role in people with this type of blood cancer.
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