GRANULOCYTE COLONY-STIMULATING FACTOR (G-CSF): A NOVEL ANTICANCER THERAPY BASED ON THE “UNIVERSAL DYNAMICS OF TUMOR GROWTH”?
M. Lopez-Lazaro
Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Seville, Spain
Abstract. It has recently been proposed that all solid tumors exhibit the same
growth dynamics. This hypothesis, developed by Bru and coworkers and called the universal
dynamics of tumor growth, says that the main mechanism responsible for tumor
progression is cell diffusion on the tumor border. The authors of this hypothesis claim
that, by inducing strong neutrophilia around the tumor, this dynamic can be changed;
neutrophils would locate themselves to eliminate cell diffusion on the tumor border
therefore inhibiting tumor growth. The authors suggest that this approach may be exploited
to develop effective anticancer strategies, and they have recently reported the possible
cure of a 56-year-old patient with advanced hepatocarcinoma treated with granulocyte
colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), a key regulator of neutrophil production. The
present report shows evidence that suggests that it is very unlikely that
neutrophil-induced cancer cell death is mediated by a mechanical impediment at the tumor
border. Furthermore, it is shown that the induction of neutrophilia is not a new
anticancer strategy based on the “universal dynamics of tumor growth”, but a known
approach that has been widely explored along the years. The merits of G-CSF for being
tested in clinical trials with cancer patients are finally evaluated.
