Avastin and Sutent cancer treatment drugs found ineffective

According to a University of Michigan study on mice, the cancer treatment drugs Avastin and Sutent are ineffective in properly treating breast cancer. In a tumor, certain stem cells are responsible for the tumor’s growth and are typically resistant to current therapies. The researchers found that while the treatments shrank the tumor bulk, the number and percentage of cancer stem cells that make up the tumor increased. This was due to a cellular response to low oxygen, a condition called hypoxia. The current study suggests the possibility of combining drugs that stop the growth and formation of blood vessels with a cancer stem cell inhibitor to enhance the benefit of these treatments.