Pancreatic cancer is a devastating disease in which current
therapies are inadequate. Separate lines of research have identified the
5-lipoxygenase/
leukotriene B(4) receptor pathway and the
PPARgamma pathway as potential targets for prevention or treatment of this disease.
LY293111 was originally designed as a potent
leukotriene B(4) receptor antagonist for treatment of inflammatory conditions.
LY293111 was also known to have inhibitory effects on
5-lipoxygenase, which is upstream of the production of
leukotrienes.
LY293111 was shown to have potent anticancer effects in
pancreatic cancer and several other solid
malignancies, where it caused cell cycle arrest and marked apoptosis. Subsequently, it came to light that
LY293111 exhibited
PPARgamma agonist activity in addition to its effects on the
5-lipoxygenase pathway. This raises the question of which of the two targets is of greatest importance with regard to the anticancer effects of this agent. The evidence to date is not conclusive, but suggests that the effects of
LY293111 may be mediated by both LTB(4) receptors and
PPARgamma.