Rapamycin inhibiert das Tumorwachstum und die Tumormetastasierung über Antiangiogenese

Abstract

Conventional immunosuppressive drugs have been used effectively to prevent immunologic rejection in organ transplantation. However, cancer development and recurrence are ominous risk factors for these immunocompromised patients. In the present study we show that the new immunosuppressive drug rapamycin may have a unique ability to reduce the risk of cancer development, while simultaneously providing effective immunosuppression. Experimentally, rapamycin inhibited tumor metastasis and angiogenesis in in vivo mouse models. Furthermore, rapamycin demonstrated antiangiogenic activities linked to vascular endothelial growth factor antagonism. In contrast, the most widely recognized immunosuppressive drug, cyclosporine, promoted both primary tumor growth and metastasis in our models. This study suggests that the use of rapamycin, instead of cyclosporine, may reduce the chance of recurrent, or de novo, cancer development in high-risk transplant patients.