A medical drug commonly used to treat gallstones has emerged as a key
player in the prevention of colon cancer, a major University of Arizona
study has concluded.
After nearly a decade of testing, the drug — known as ursodeoxycholic
acid (UDCA) — has proven to reduce the risk of dangerous precancerous
growths in the bowel by nearly 40 percent.
Such growths are most likely to develop into full-fledged colon cancer —
a leading cause of cancer death in the United States, expected to kill
more than 56,000 people this year.
“What we have is a drug that is commercially available, being used
regularly, that is now an option to use on patients who are at very high
risk for colon cancer,” said Dr. David S. Alberts, director of the
Arizona Cancer Center.
It was Alberts who launched the studies of UDCA in the 1990s, as part of
a $17 million mega-grant from the National Cancer Institute to find and
test agents capable of preventing this cancer.
“It is exciting after all these years not only to find out it is
effective, but also one of the safest drugs for the digestive tract — it
has very few side effects,” Alberts said.
As a result, UDCA — known commercially as Actigall — will join aspirin
and calcium in the growing arsenal of non-toxic agents with proven
ability to reduce the risk of colon cancer.
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©The Arizona Daily Star, 2005
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