SLU researcher finds cause and possible relief of cancer bone pain
Saint Louis University Health News Jun 29, 2017
In a paper published in the journal Pain, Saint Louis University researcher Daniela Salvemini, PhD, reports discovering a key molecular pathway that drives cancer–related bone pain while providing a potential solution with a drug that already is on the market.
Salvemini, who is a professor of pharmacology and physiology at SLU, studies many sorts of pain, including chronic pain, cancer pain and chemotherapy–induced pain, in search of new treatments.
Innovations in the treatment of bone cancer pain primarily have focused on addressing bone loss and vulnerability to painful skeletal–related events. However, no therapies currently target the neuropathic mechanisms of cancer–induced bone pain (CIBP).
In addition, pain often continues even for patients whose cancer enters remission, increasing the need for effective therapies rather than relying only on palliative care.
ÂBetter understanding of cancer–induced bone pain is critical to the development of such strategies, Salvemini said.
In previous work, Salvemini discovered pain pathways  the molecular series of events that lead to pain  that helped researchers understand how pain occurs. One molecule that the pathways are dependent upon is called S1PR1 (sphingosine 1–phosphate receptor subtype 1). By modulating this molecule, scientists were able to block and reverse pain. This finding is particularly encouraging because a drug that modulates S1PR1 already is on the market.
SalveminiÂs current paper reports an experiment her team conducted studying an animal model of breast cancer that has metastasized to the femur. The researchers observed in the spinal cord changes to key pathways suggesting that increases in sphingosine 1–phosphate are a key component of developing pain and that blocking this signal limits pain.
The research team found that targeting S1PR1 mitigates bone pain and neuroinflammation, and identifies S1PR1 as a potential therapeutic target alone or as a secondary therapy to address cancer–induced bone pain.
"Thanks to an exceptional team that included the expertise of Dr. Todd Vanderah, known for his seminal work in pain, and Dr. Sarah Spiegel, known for her work in sphingolipid biology and the discovery of S1P, we were able to make this significant advance toward providing pain relief for those who are suffering," Salvemini said.
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Salvemini, who is a professor of pharmacology and physiology at SLU, studies many sorts of pain, including chronic pain, cancer pain and chemotherapy–induced pain, in search of new treatments.
Innovations in the treatment of bone cancer pain primarily have focused on addressing bone loss and vulnerability to painful skeletal–related events. However, no therapies currently target the neuropathic mechanisms of cancer–induced bone pain (CIBP).
In addition, pain often continues even for patients whose cancer enters remission, increasing the need for effective therapies rather than relying only on palliative care.
ÂBetter understanding of cancer–induced bone pain is critical to the development of such strategies, Salvemini said.
In previous work, Salvemini discovered pain pathways  the molecular series of events that lead to pain  that helped researchers understand how pain occurs. One molecule that the pathways are dependent upon is called S1PR1 (sphingosine 1–phosphate receptor subtype 1). By modulating this molecule, scientists were able to block and reverse pain. This finding is particularly encouraging because a drug that modulates S1PR1 already is on the market.
SalveminiÂs current paper reports an experiment her team conducted studying an animal model of breast cancer that has metastasized to the femur. The researchers observed in the spinal cord changes to key pathways suggesting that increases in sphingosine 1–phosphate are a key component of developing pain and that blocking this signal limits pain.
The research team found that targeting S1PR1 mitigates bone pain and neuroinflammation, and identifies S1PR1 as a potential therapeutic target alone or as a secondary therapy to address cancer–induced bone pain.
"Thanks to an exceptional team that included the expertise of Dr. Todd Vanderah, known for his seminal work in pain, and Dr. Sarah Spiegel, known for her work in sphingolipid biology and the discovery of S1P, we were able to make this significant advance toward providing pain relief for those who are suffering," Salvemini said.
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