September 4, 2012

Cholesterol inhibitors block lymphatic vessel growth




One of the world’s top selling drugs potentially also acts against the growth of new lymphatic vessels, with potential implications for cancer therapy. This surprising finding was brought forward by researchers at ETH Zurich with their newly developed three-dimensional cell culture system.

Researchers at the Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences at ETH Zurich and the University of California Berkeley have made an unexpected discovery. Their search for novel pharmaceuticals that might prevent the generation of tumour metastases and transplant rejection identified a well-known drug class: the statins.