Cisplatin is a chemotherapy drug indicated for fighting tumors in many cancers. However, it is associated with significant side effects, particularly kidney toxicity that can lead to acute renal failure. Furthermore, patients treated with cisplatin also frequently report experiencing significant neuropathic pain. Scientists from Inserm, the University and University Hospital of Lille, the CNRS, and the Pasteur Institute of Lille, working within the CANTHER laboratories, are investigating this issue.[1] Lille Neuroscience & Cognition, in collaboration with researchers from Michigan State University (USA), have identified a drug that could be a game-changer for patients. Already approved for Parkinson's disease, this molecule, called istradefylline, could not only reduce the harmful effects of chemotherapy but also enhance its anti-tumor properties. These results will now need to be confirmed in a clinical trial. The study is published in The Journal of Clinical Investigation.

[1] Laboratory for Heterogeneity, Plasticity and Resistance to Cancer Therapies (CANTHER)

Read the press release 

Istradefylline protects from cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity and peripheral neuropathy while preserving cisplatin anti-tumor effects

Edmone Dewaeles, Kévin Carvalho, Sandy Fellah, Jaewon Sim, Nihad Boukrout
,Raphaelle Caillierez, Hariharan Ramakrishnan, Cynthia Van der Hauwaert, Jhenkruthi
Vijaya Shankara , Nathalie Martin Noura Massri  Agathe Launay Joseph K. Folger
Clémentine de Schutter, Romain Larrue, Ingrid Loison, Marine Goujon, Matthieu Jung7, Stéphanie Le Gras, Victoria Gomez-Murcia, Emilie Faivre, Julie Lemaire, Anne Garat, Nicolas Beauval, Patrice Maboudou, Viviane Gnemmi, Jean-Baptiste Gibier, Luc Buée, Corinne Abbadie, Francois Glowacki, Nicolas Pottier, Michael Perrais, Rodrigo A. Cunha, Jean-Sébastien Annicotte, Geoffroy Laumet, David Blum, Christelle Cauffiez

Journal of Clinical InvestigationNovember 2022

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI152924

UMR9020 CNRS – U1277 Inserm “Heterogeneity, plasticity and resistance to cancer therapies (Canther)
University of Lille – Lille University Hospital – Inserm – Pasteur Institute of Lille – CNRS – CLCC Lille – COL