A Potential Therapeutic Agent For Retinoblastoma

Retinoblastoma is a childhood cancer that accounts for approximately 3% of cancers in children. In the developing world it remains fatal, however in developed countries it is one of the most curable paediatric cancers, combated using a combination of therapies. One problem that exists with the traditional approach of radiotherapy is the association of long-term morbidity and even secondary mortality. A preferred option would be chemotherapy together with a locally applied therapeutic modality, such as laser therapy or cryotherapy.

Heeral Shah and colleagues investigated the effects of beta-lapachone on human retinoblastoma cell lines. They found that beta-lapachone was effective in inhibiting the growth and proliferation of retinoblastoma cells, and actively induced their apoptotic destruction at low doses. Their findings are consistent with those from studies of the effect of beta-lapachone in other human cancer cell lines - including breast, colon and lung cancer. Given recent reports that beta-lapachone also acts with a high degree of selectivity towards cancer cells, the authors suggest that it could have great utility in the management of retinoblastoma.

Author contact:

Joan O'Brien (University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA) Co-author
E-mail: joan.obrien@ucsf.edu

Editorial contact:

Emma Greenwoord (Assistant Editor, Nature Publishing Group)
E-mail: emma.greenwood@nature.com

Abstract available online.

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