Swedish Researchers Launch Clinical Trial Testing 250-Year-Old Heart Drug Digitoxin for Pancreatic Cancer Treatment
核心洞察
Researchers at the University of Skovde (搜索) in Sweden have launched a clinical trial testing digitoxin, a 250-year-old heart medication derived from foxglove plant, as a potential treatment for pancreatic cancer (搜索).
Laboratory studies demonstrate that digitoxin can disrupt cancer cell metabolism (搜索), interfere with calcium balance, and induce cell cycle arrest or death in pancreatic cancer (搜索) cells.
The research team is using five different pancreatic cancer (搜索) cell lines to identify biomarkers that predict treatment response, aiming for personalized therapy approaches.
Researchers at the University of Skovde (搜索) in Sweden, in collaboration with Skaraborg Hospital (搜索), have launched a clinical study to evaluate digitoxin as a potential treatment for pancreatic cancer (搜索), marking a significant repurposing effort for the centuries-old cardiac medication. The drug, originally derived from the foxglove plant (Digitalis purpurea), represents a promising new approach to treating one of the world's most lethal cancers.
Historical Foundation Meets Modern Oncology
Digitoxin's journey from folk remedy to potential cancer treatment spans over two centuries. The drug's origins trace back to 1775 when English physician William Withering encountered a folk remedy from 'Mother Hutton', an old lady from Shropshire whose herbal tea containing foxglove successfully treated 'dropsy'—now recognized as congestive heart failure (搜索). After systematic testing on over 150 patients beginning in 1776, Withering published his seminal work in 1785, introducing digitalis to mainstream western medicine.
German pharmacologist Oswald Schmiedeberg isolated and named digitoxin in 1875 using chemical fractionation techniques, enabling laboratory testing and commercial production by the late 1800s. The drug's therapeutic efficacy in heart failure (搜索) patients was conclusively established in clinical trials as recently as August 2025, when results presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress showed that digitoxin improves outcomes in advanced heart failure.
Promising Laboratory Results Drive Clinical Investigation
Laboratory studies have revealed digitoxin's potential anticancer properties, showing the drug can disrupt cancer cell metabolism (搜索), interfere with calcium balance, and in some cases, induce cell cycle arrest or cell death in pancreatic cancer (搜索) cells. These findings have prompted the Swedish research team to advance to human trials.
"Digitoxin is a well-known and approved drug, which means that developing new cancer treatments could become both faster and less expensive," explains Helene Lindholm, researcher in bioscience at the University of Skovde (搜索). "We've seen promising results in the laboratory, so now we're taking the next step — testing it in a clinical trial."
Addressing Cancer Heterogeneity Through Personalized Approaches
The research addresses a critical challenge in pancreatic cancer (搜索) treatment: tumor heterogeneity. Pancreatic cancer is one of the most lethal forms of cancer, with fewer than five percent of patients surviving more than five years after diagnosis. The disease's complexity stems from significant variation between individual tumors.
"Pancreatic cancer (搜索) is extremely heterogeneous — two patients can have the same diagnosis but completely different tumours," Lindholm explains. "That's why it's so hard to find one treatment that works for all. Our goal is to understand why some tumours respond better than others."
To address this variation, the research team uses five different pancreatic cancer (搜索) cell lines and compares their reactions to digitoxin. Laboratory studies have shown that the response varies considerably between different pancreatic cancer cell types, highlighting the need for personalized treatment approaches.
Biomarker Development for Treatment Optimization
The clinical study aims to identify biomarkers that can predict which patients are most likely to benefit from digitoxin treatment, paving the way for more personalized therapy. This approach could help overcome the challenge of pancreatic cancer (搜索)'s heterogeneous nature and improve treatment outcomes for patients with this aggressive disease.
The repurposing of digitoxin represents a potentially faster and more cost-effective path to developing new cancer treatments compared to creating entirely new drugs. If the clinical findings support the laboratory results, digitoxin could mark the rebirth of a centuries-old drug with a new purpose in oncology.