An 18th-Century Heart Drug May Offer Hope Against Cancer

From a 250-year-old remedy for heart problems to a modern clinical study. Researchers in Skövde are investigating whether digitoxin, a powerful compound from the foxglove plant, can be used against one of the most lethal types of cancer, pancreatic cancer.

Can the foxglove plant be used in the fight against cancer?

Pancreatic cancer has long been one of the most difficult cancers to treat. Only five per cent of patients survive longer than five years after diagnosis. Could the old heart medicine digitoxin be a potential treatment? It is now on its way to being tested on patients at Skaraborg Hospital.

Old medicines in a new fight

By reusing already approved drugs such as digitoxin, researchers hope to develop new treatment methods without having to start from scratch. The process of developing new medicines can otherwise take over ten years and cost astronomical sums. 

How digitoxin affects cancer cells

In laboratory experiments, digitoxin has been shown to affect cancer cells in several ways. It disrupts the cells' energy production, upsets their calcium balance, and can cause them to stop dividing or die. But the results vary greatly between different tumours.

"Pancreatic cancer is a disease with a great deal of biological variation and can look very different from patient to patient. Two patients may have the same diagnosis but completely different tumours. That is precisely why it is so difficult to find a treatment that works for everyone," says Heléne Lindholm.

Tailor-made treatment for each tumour

To reflect the variation, the researchers are using five different types of cancer cells and comparing their reactions. The hope is to understand why some tumours respond better than others. The goal is more personalised care.

"It is an important step towards more personalised treatment, where each patient receives treatment tailored to their specific tumour."

At the same time, the team is looking for biomarkers, traces in the body that can reveal which patients benefit most from digitoxin, and investigating how the drug can best be combined with other treatments.

Will be tested on patients

In the clinical study, the researchers aim to determine whether the results from the lab also apply to the human body.

"We want to confirm that our biomarkers work, determine the correct dosage, and ensure that the treatment is safe for patients," says Heléne Lindholm.

If the results hold up, digitoxin may become part of the treatment and increase survival rates.

Collaboration with Skaraborg Hospital

The study is being conducted in collaboration with oncologist Johan Haux at Skaraborg Hospital, who is leading the clinical phase and initiated the trials with digitoxin. At the University of Skövde, researchers are continuing to study the compound’s effect on pancreatic cancer and its cell-killing mechanism.