Protein therapy for patients that have no appetite, such as with Cancer.

November 5, 2007

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November 5, 2007 - 3:20PM

A protein that controls hunger is poised to help both cancer patients and extremely obese people overcome their struggles with weight.

Australian scientists have discovered a novel way to "switch on" depleted appetite in advanced cancer patients to stop them losing body fat.

The experimental treatment, reported in the international journal Nature Medicine, could ultimately give patients the strength to survive treatment and improve their chances of recovery.

The same breakthrough also could be used to literally "switch off" appetite in extremely obese patients, potentially offering an incision-free alternative to lap-band surgery.

Researchers from the University of NSW, St 's Hospital and the Garvan Institute of Medical Research in Sydney say if their findings in lab rats prove true in humans, the implications will be huge.

The team have discovered that cancer patients have high levels of a protein called MIC-1 that sends a "don't eat" message to the brain.

As cancerous tumours grows, levels of the protein also rise, reducing appetite and weight and speeding up a patient's decline.

The researchers found that by injecting diseased mice with a MIC-1 antibody they could "mop up" the protein and stop weight loss.

"If the antibody has the same effect in human patients with advanced cancer we'll be able to improve their wellbeing and help them overcome frailty," said Professor Sam Breit at St 's Centre for Immunology.

"Most of these patients are incurable under current treatments but this could, at the least, help them continue treatment for longer and prolong their life."

The antibody may also improve appetite in patients with chronic renal failure on dialysis, he said.

On the flip side, mice injected with MIC-1 itself ate less and lost a lot of weight, suggesting the protein could form the basis of an injectable treatment for severe obesity.

"Obviously, with the way society is going, if this alternative obesity treatment was even remotely successful it would be huge," said Prof Breit, who originally discovered the gene in the 1990s.

The researchers are now developing a human antibody for cancer patients that would be given intravenously every few weeks.

They hope to find a pharmaceutical collaborator to trial both therapies and, if successful, they could be available in six years.

"There's every sign, every indication that they will work but the true test is in human trials," he said.

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