CUSP9


CUSP9 is one of several cancer treatment protocols using re-purposed older drugs to interfere with cancer cell's growth signaling rather than directly killing them with cytotoxic drugs. CUSP9 is a treatment specifically targeted to glioblastoma that adds to a traditional cancer cell killing drug, temozolomide, nine older, non-cytotoxic drugs to block growth factors that enhance or drive glioblastoma growth . These targets have been shown to be active in glioblastoma.
CUSP9 is related several other trials using a similar conceptual approach: The COMBAT regimen for treating various advanced pediatric cancers that uses two re-purposed non-cytotoxic drugs to augment two traditional cytotoxic drugs, or the GLAD regimen that uses one traditional anti-cancer drug, gefitinib, with three re-purposed non-cancer drugs. Or the MEMMAT regimen, in a current trial of A.Peyrl et al. using a 7 drug cocktail, - non-cytotoxic drugs bevacizumab, thalidomide, celecoxib, and fenofibric acid to augment traditional cytotoxic drugs etoposide, cyclophosphamide, and cytarabine to treat progressive medulloblastoma.
The ReDO project and many others also follow this line of thought as in CUSP9 - repurposing older drugs for their anti-cancer effect and simultaneous use of several of them] in cancer treatment. The drug repurposing movement uses the central or ancillary attributes of a drug normally used for non-cancer indications but that may constructively interact with a cancer´s growth mechanisms to slow that cancer´s growth.
None of these treatment regimens have been proven to be safe or effective in human cancers but are occasionally tried on compassionate-use basis in patients who have exhausted all other options. A formal trial of the CUSP9 protocol in recurrent glioblastoma in Ulm Germany was completed, results to be announced in mid-2019.
Two in vitro studies confirmed strong cytotoxicity to a pannel of glioblastoma cells.