Researchers have found that drugs used for schizophrenia can limit the growth of pancreatic cancer and decrease the mobility of pancreatic cancer cells. According to a study published in the Journal of Gastroenterology,
the drugs were effective at slowing the growth of tumors and impeding their ability to proliferate.

About 3 percent of cancer cases in the United States are of pancreatic cancer, but account for 7 percent of cancer deaths, according to the American Cancer Society. Pancreatic cancer is more difficult to treat and is often discovered at much later stages than other forms of cancer.

Researchers at several institutions found the dopamine receptor DRD2 was much more active in the cancer cells of patients with pancreatic cancer. Yasser Riazalhosseini, a researcher at McGill University was co-leader of the study. Researchers first tested the effects of the antiqsychotic drug pimozide, finding it substantially slowed the growth and mobility of the cancer cells.

The researchers then implanted the cells in mice, allowing them to grow into tumors before treating them with haloperidol, a dopamine antagonist used for schizophrenia patients. The mice developed smaller tumors and had fewer metastases than mice not treated with the drug.

The next step is to test the drugs in human pancreatic cancer patients.

Story Source
McGill University. "Medication against schizophrenia inhibits Pancreatic Cancer, research shows." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 7 September 2016.