Scientists in the U.S. have found that a dietary supplement added to sports drinks can effectively reduce the growth of human drug-resistant HER2-positive breast cancer tumors in mice . The studies, headed by Mayo Clinic Pharmacologist Taro Hitosugi, Ph.D., found that the supplement, cyclocreatine targets mitochondrial creatine kinase 1 (MtCK1), which is involved in a mitochondrial metabolic pathway that is upregulated in HER2-positive breast tumors. Tumor proliferation was reduced in cyclocreatine-treated mice with human trastuzumab-resistant HER2+ xenografts. Combining cyclocreatine with the HER2 kinase inhibitor lapatinib resulted in even greater antiproliferative effects in the mouse xenograft models than either treatment alone. “Mitochondrial creatine kinase 1 may be a new drug target for the treatment of HER2 positive breast cancer,” says Matthew Goetz, M.D., director of the Mayo Clinic Breast Cancer research program, and co-author of the team’s published...
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