A blood pressure drug from the 1950s may hold surprising promise for treating one of the deadliest cancers. Researchers have discovered that the medication blocks a tiny oxygen-sensing enzyme that aggressive tumors use to survive in low-oxygen conditions. When this pathway is shut down, cancer cells enter a permanent “sleep mode,” stopping them from growing and spreading.
In lab tests, glioblastoma cells exposed to the drug stopped dividing and became flat and inactive. The treatment didn’t kill the cells, but freezing their growth could offer a powerful new way to control tumors that often come back after surgery and chemotherapy. Because the drug is already FDA-approved for blood pressure, scientists say it could move more quickly through testing than a brand-new cancer drug.
Researchers caution that the results are still early and so far only seen in cell studies. The next step is to test the approach in animals and, eventually, in humans. Even so, the findings offer a promising blueprint for repurposing an old medication into a new tool against hard-to-treat cancers.
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