Medical experts with Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond have determined antihistamines — used to treat allergies and cold symptoms — have potent anti-cancer properties and might help ward off tumors.

 

The findings, published in The Journal of Leukocyte Biology, suggests that antihistamines may interfere with the function of a type of cell that is known to reduce the body's ability to fight tumors — called "myeloid derived suppressor cells," Medical Xpress reports.

"This research is very exciting as it draws a connection between two diseases that aren't commonly linked: allergy and cancer," said Daniel H. Conrad, a researcher involved in the work from the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at Virginia Commonwealth. "It's important to realize, however, that this connection is very novel and more research is needed before we know if antihistamines can be used effectively in cancer therapies."
 

Conrad and colleagues examined mice in experiments that involved myeloid derived suppressor cells. One group of mice induced to have cancerous tumors were injected with myeloid derived suppressor cells and treated with the antihistamine, cimetidine.

The researchers found that the antihistamine reversed the tumor growth normally seen with myeloid derived suppressor cell injections.
 

The scientists also examined blood from patients with allergy symptoms (typically associated with increased histamine release). The scientists found that these patients had greater circulating myeloid derived suppressor cells than people without allergies.
 

"Antihistamines may be one of the most commonly used over-the-counter drugs, but this report shows that we still have much to learn about their potential benefits," said John Wherry, deputy editor of the Journal of Leukocyte Biology.
 

"It is certainly not yet time to prophylactically administer antihistamines for cancer prevention, but the more we learn about myeloid derived suppressor cells, the more interesting these cells and their products become as immunotherapy targets in cancer. These new results suggest that we must be open-minded about seemingly distantly related immune mechanisms to examine."