New study discovers how to prevent chemotherapy-associated neuropathic pain in colon cancer

A high percentage of cancer patients develop hypersensitivity to cold and touch in the extremities and mouth as a result of chemotherapy.

30-Aug-2022 - Spain

Researchers at the Instituto de Neurociencias (IN), a joint center of the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) and the Universidad Miguel Hernández (UMH), have discovered how to prevent neuropathic pain associated with chemotherapy in the treatment of colon cancer, the second most commonly diagnosed type of cancer. The study, carried out in mice, has been published in the journal Brain.

This finding is the result of several years of research by the Sensory Transduction and Nociception Group of the Institute of Neurosciences (CSIC-UMH), in Alicante, in collaboration with scientists from the company ESTEVE Pharmaceuticals.

"The results of our work show that treatment before chemotherapy with a sigma 1 receptor antagonist, a key protein in pain control, largely prevents the development of these neuropathic symptoms associated with the administration of one of the components of chemotherapy: oxaliplatin," explains researcher Elvira de la Peña.

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A high percentage of cancer patients treated with chemotherapy develop hypersensitivity to cold and touch in the extremities and mouth. This is known as painful neuropathy due to chemotherapeutic agents. The development of this painful neuropathy conditions the maximum dose of chemotherapy administered and compromises its efficacy and the survival of the patients and forces to abandon chemotherapy in some cases, compromising the survival of the patients.

Colorectal cancer is the second most diagnosed tumor and constitutes the second leading cause of death from cancer. Its treatment with chemotherapy includes the use of oxaliplatin in combination with other antitumor drugs. In a large number of patients, oxaliplatin causes numbness or tingling in the fingers or pain in the hands and feet when touching metal objects, when going outside in cold weather or even when showering or washing hands. These discomforts can become very disabling and affect the normal performance of daily activities, such as walking or dressing.

The tactile and thermal hypersensitivity in this neuropathy is known to be associated with alterations in a molecular sensor known as the TRPA1 ion channel, discovered by Ardem Patapoutian, recent Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine.

"Using biochemical techniques we demonstrated that the TRPA1 channel needs to interact with the sigma-1 receptor, forming a molecular complex, for its correct expression on the surface of neurons. We then found that mice treated with the sigma-1 antagonist, a key protein in pain control, during the administration of oxaliplatin normalized their response to painful stimuli," adds De la Peña.

"As in any basic research, performed in experimental animals, we must be cautious about translating these findings to the clinic. A clinical trial in patients is needed. However, these results are an important step in the understanding of this pathology and offer the hope that in the future they can be used as a new therapy for the treatment and prevention of these disabling side effects of anticancer treatments," concludes researcher Felix Viana.

Finally, given that there are different chemotherapeutic agents and each one gives rise to a somewhat different spectrum of symptoms, in future studies the researchers at the IN (UMH-CSIC) in Alicante plan to determine whether what they have discovered for oxaliplatin can be generalized to other anticancer agents used in the treatment of different tumors.

Note: This article has been translated using a computer system without human intervention. LUMITOS offers these automatic translations to present a wider range of current news. Since this article has been translated with automatic translation, it is possible that it contains errors in vocabulary, syntax or grammar. The original article in Spanish can be found here.

Original publication

Marcotti, A., Fernández-Trillo, J., González, A., Vizcaíno-Escoto, M., Ros-Arlanzón, P., Romero, L., Vela, J. M., Gomis, A., Viana, F., & de la Peña, E. (2022); "TRPA1 modulation by Sigma-1 receptor prevents oxaliplatin-induced painful peripheral neuropathy."; Brain.

https://www.bionity.com/en/news/1177488/new-study-discovers-how-to-prevent-chemotherapy-associated-neuropathic-pain-in-colon-cancer.html