A novel therapy for colorectal cancer liver metast

Posted by Ron Myerscough

Project title and synopsis:
Title: Captopril - a novel therapy for colorectal cancer liver metastases (CRCLM)?
Synopsis: Worldwide, 944 717 cases of colorectal cancer are being diagnosed, taking away 492 411 lives each year (WHO). In Australia alone, 13 000 cases of colorectal cancer are being diagnosed, killing 4 700 people (Australia's Health 2010). The most significant factor of this death is the spread of cancer to the liver (metastases). Despite being the only therapy that offers a potential long-term cure for the patients, liver surgery is also associated with a high risk of cancer recurrence after surgery. Captopril, a safe and cost-efficient RAS blocker being used clinically to treat high blood pressure in patients, has been shown in our previous studies to inhibit CRCLM. Our current study showed that captopril improved liver re-growth following surgery and therefore may be a novel therapy to synergistically improve liver re-growth whilst inhibiting cancer recurrence.(Shir Lin)