Anti-cancer drug may hold keys to reducing premature birth

October 23, 2009 by Shawn Douglas
Filed under: News, Pregnancy

An anti-cancer drug has been found to have the properties of inhibiting contractions in uterine muscle tissue which may aid in reducing premature birth.

Every year, nearly 50,000 premature births occur in the U.K., and around 1,500 of those preterm babies die each year. This has led many to call for much-needed research into methods of decreasing premature birth.

Researchers at Newcastle University—with the help of funding from the children’s charity Action Medical Research—found that an anti-cancer drug, Trichostatin A, drastically reduced muscle contractions in uterine muscle tissue. The researchers said that the drug worked by ramping up production of protein kinase A (PKA) that is responsible for controlling muscle contractions.

The team found that with the application of the drug to uterine muscle tissue, there was an average 46 percent decrease in the rate of contractions in the tissue and an average 54 percent decrease in the rate of oxytocin-induced contractions.

“This is an exciting new discovery as we now know that protein kinase A has an important role in controlling relaxation of the uterus during pregnancy,” said Dr. Nick Europe-Finner, the project leader.

“The discovery that Trichostatin A can inhibit contractions, presumably due to its effect on PKA, means that this drug could potentially be used to prevent premature labor; however, further laboratory studies are needed to assess the effectiveness of this and similar anti-cancer agents.”

Commenting on the results of the study, Professor Jane Norman of the Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynecology said, “At the moment, it’s not possible to treat preterm labor effectively. We only have drugs that delay it by 24 hours or so—not enough to deliver the baby safely.

“One of the interesting things about this research is that they are using a new kind of drug—the drugs we are currently using have been around for a long time. And they are targeting pathways we have not known about before.”

“When you consider that preterm birth rates are rising in all four countries of the U.K., a new more effective drug is badly needed.”