Thu, 17 Dec 2009 06:19:0
David Goodhue - AHN Reporter
Miami, Florida, United States (AHN) - A group of drugs designed to treat heart failure may also fight colon cancer, according to Swedish researchers.
Uppsala University researchers were studying claims that cardiac glycosides, a family of naturally-derived drugs used to treat congestive heart failure and abnormal heart rhythm, may combat many different forms of cancer.
The researchers tested five cardiac glycosides against cultures of human colon cancer cells and found they were all effective to different degrees at killing cancer cells, they said in a statement.
The researchers said that their findings suggest that the heart drugs may help fight colon cancer when used alone or in a combination with conventional chemotherapy drugs.
The study is published in the American Chemical Society's Journal of Natural Products.
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