Jenny Felth, Joachim Gullbo, and colleagues note that cardiac glycosides are a family of naturally-derived drugs used to treat congestive heart failure and abnormal heart rhythms. Scientists have suspected for some time, based on previous research, that these heart drugs may have promise for fighting many different types of cancer. Despite this, knowledge on effects in colon cancer or combination effects with other anti-cancer drugs is lacking. But scientists know little about their potential anticancer effects and have not tested these substances against colon cancer.
As part of a larger study to screen and identify natural substances with activity against colon cancer, the scientists picked several cardiac glycosides for further study. They tested five of these heart drugs against laboratory cultures of human colon cancer cells and found that they were all effective, to varying degrees, at killing the cancer cells.
» Read more: Heart Drugs Show Promise for Fighting Colon Cancer