Previously overlooked cytokine is a potential anticancer agent

Melbourne researchers have found that the cytokine interleukin-11 (IL-11) plays a bigger role than thought in the growth and development of gastrointestinal cancers. The discovery suggests that blocking IL-11 signalling could provide a new way of treating bowel and stomach cancer - two of the most common cancers worldwide.

When a tumour develops, the normal tissues around it can become inflamed and produce a variety of molecules, including the two related protein cytokines IL-11 and IL-6. These hormone-like signalling molecules are thought to promote the growth and spread of cancer cells, but interleukin-11 was thought to have only a minor, if any, role during cancer development.

Working with scientists at Melbourne-based CSL, Dr Tracy Putoczki and Associate Professor Matthias Ernst from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute discovered that blocking interleukin-11 in mouse models of stomach and bowel cancer stopped tumour growth and could lead to tumour shrinkage.

Dr Putoczki said the team was stunned to discover that IL-11 was much more potent in promoting cancer development than IL-6.

“When considering which cytokines drive cancer development, interleukin-6 has always been in the spotlight,” she said. “Despite being very similar to interleukin-6, interleukin-11 has often been overlooked by cancer researchers. Our new research now shows that it might in fact be very important.”

Associate Professor Ernst said the team had begun to explore how the discovery could be applied to potential new anticancer therapies.

“Treating cancers with agents that block cytokine signalling is an exciting new approach that potentially has advantages over current treatment strategies,” he said. “Drugs that block the action of cytokines have previously been developed for both inflammatory disease and cancer and, in the case of interleukin-11, our work does not suggest the likelihood of undesirable side effects. Moreover, agents that inhibit interleukin-6 signalling are already in clinical trials for ovarian, kidney, prostate and breast cancer. Our discovery paves the way for trials of agents that stifle interleukin-11.”

The research has been published online in the journal Cancer Cell.