Targeted Combination Therapy Triggers Cell Death in Mouse Models of Metastatic Cancer

A combination of two targeted drugs--one that blocks protein breakdown and one that activates the programmed cell death pathway--reduces the number of tumor metastases in mouse models of kidney and breast cancer. The combination also prolonged overall survival in mice with kidney cancer. Bortezomib blocks the activity of the proteasome, an enzyme complex which degrades misfolded or unwanted proteins. Bortezomib has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of multiple myeloma, but its activity against solid tumors is still being tested.