Cancer of the pancreas is an extremely aggressive disease with a dismal prognosis. The number of cases that is newly diagnosed with this type of cancer each year is almost the same as the one of people who succumb to it. While advances in prevention, early detection and treatment have led to a drop in mortality rates in most other cancer types, a growing number of people in Germany and world-wide develop pancreatic cancer and die from it.
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DRD2 is a key molecule in many psychotic diseases and is therefore targeted by numerous psychopharmaceutical agents. Drugs that block the function of DRD2 (“dopamine antagonists”) have been available since the 1950s. Among them is the antipsychotic pimozide. Using this substance, the investigators collaborating with Hoheisel succeeded in substantially slowing down the growth and impeding the mobility of pancreatic cancer cell lines.
The researchers transferred human pancreatic cancer cells to mice and allowed them to grow into tumors. After treating the animals with another dopamine antagonist - haloperidol, a medication that is often prescribed to treat schizophrenia - they developed smaller tumors and, more importantly, fewer metastases than untreated animals.
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