Annual Report 2017
Division of Supportive Care Research
Yasuhito Uezono, Junko Ezuka
Introduction
In 2015, the Division of Supportive Care Research launched its activity in the Group for Innovative Cancer Treatment in the Exploratory Oncology Research & Clinical Trial Center (EPOC), aimed at innovative research specific for supportive and palliative care. Supportive and palliative care research is important and indispensable for improving the quality of life (QOL) in patients suffering from cancer. Our division is ongoing for this purpose, in particular, to innovate novel drugs for improving severe pain and cancer cachexia that worsen the QOL in cancer patients.
Research activities
In 2017, our division undertook and conducted three major projects regarding the development of novel pain killers as follows:
1) Development of "the new pain-killer compound X, which can remove oral pain without changing the texture and taste of food" for cancer patients with severe painful stomatitis, intellectually and financially supported by the Project Promoting Support for Drug Discovery from the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED)
2) Study for "Relief from neuropathic pain by blocking of the platelet-activating factor (PAF)-pain loop" supported by the Project for Cancer Research and Therapeutic Evolution (P-CREATE) from the AMED
3) Development of novel opioid analgesics that specifically activate μ/∂ heterodimer with less side-effect and tolerance supported by a grant by the National Cancer Center Research and Development Fund
Future prospects
With novel seeds discovered from the Division of Cancer Pathophysiology, the National Cancer Center Research Institute (NCCRI) that we co-hold in the National Cancer Center (NCC), and from other collaborating University/Institute, we are going to propose and innovate novel therapeutics to improve the QOL in patients suffering from cancer pain, cancer cachexia, and symptoms not relieved by drugs currently available.
List of papers published in January 2017 - March 2018
Journal
1. Terawaki K, Kashiwase Y, Sawada Y, Hashimoto H, Yoshimura M, Ohbuchi K, Sudo Y, Suzuki M, Miyano K, Shiraishi S, Higami Y, Yanagihara K, Hattori T, Kase Y, Ueta Y, Uezono Y. Development of ghrelin resistance in a cancer cachexia rat model using human gastric cancer-derived 85As2 cells and the palliative effects of the Kampo medicine rikkunshito on the model. PLoS One, 12:e0173113, 2017
2. Nonaka M, Kurebayashi N, Murayama T, Sugihara M, Terawaki K, Shiraishi S, Miyano K, Hosoda H, Kishida S, Kangawa K, Sakurai T, Uezono Y. Therapeutic potential of ghrelin and des-acyl ghrelin against chemotherapy-induced cardiotoxicity. Endocr J, 64:S35-S39, 2017
3. Shindou H, Shiraishi S, Tokuoka SM, Takahashi Y, Harayama T, Abe T, Bando K, Miyano K, Kita Y, Uezono Y, Shimizu T. Relief from neuropathic pain by blocking of the platelet-activating factor-pain loop. FASEB J, 31:2973-2980, 2017
4. Sakai H, Tabata S, Kimura M, Yabe S, Isa Y, Kai Y, Sato F, Yumoto T, Miyano K, Narita M, Uezono Y. Active Ingredients of Hange-shashin-to, Baicalelin and 6-Gingerol, Inhibit 5-Fluorouracil-Induced Upregulation of CXCL1 in the Colon to Attenuate Diarrhea Development. Biol Pharm Bull, 40:2134-2139, 2017