Scientists at MIT have found that blocking an inflammatory enzyme called caspase-1 may help prevent lung cancer from developing. In experiments involving mice at high risk of lung tumors, researchers found that caspase-1 was highly active in developing tumors. Treating the mice with a small-molecule drug that inhibits the enzyme significantly reduced the number and size of tumors. Combining the caspase-1 inhibitor with an antibody targeting the inflammatory molecule IL-1 beta prevented some mice from developing tumors altogether. The potential treatment is especially promising because caspase-1 inhibitors have already been tested in humans for other diseases. Researchers now hope to investigate whether these drugs could eventually be repurposed as preventive treatments for people at high risk of lung cancer.
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