A Japanese/South Korean asthma drug targets cancer stem cells and inhibits hard-to-treat breast cancer cells.

The non-toxic oral drug tranilast (brand name Rizaben®) is used to treat asthma in both Japan and South Korea. The drug also has known anti-cancer properties. Canadian researchers demonstrated that tranilast is capable of blocking breast cancer stem cells from forming colonies and spreading in a laboratory setting. Cancer stem cells are more resistant to conventional chemotherapy drugs. The researchers showed similar results HER-2+ and triple-negative breast cancer cell lines. The work is significant because HER-2+ and triple-negative cancer are frequently more difficult to treat due to limited treatment options.