The Various Uses of Tranilast

Many people suffer from asthma every day and some treat it with a drug called Tranilast.  There are other uses for the drug that no one could have imagined, including treatment of breast cancer, diabetes, Cronh's disease, arthritis, and desmoid tumors. Tranilast was not even available in the U.S.A until recently and was mainly used in Japan and other Asian countries. This asthma drug that was previously used to treat only one disorder has now been found to treat many disorders and diseases. Tranilast is very versatile and can save lives of many people, if it is used in the right ways. There are many studies being done to find the proper ways to treat people using Tranilast, including experiments with mice and humans inflicted with the disease or disorder in question.

Tranilast is a drug used to treat asthma disorders such as bronchial asthma, allergic rhinitis and atopic dermatitis (8, 13). Allergic rhinitis symptoms, which usually appear in the nose or eyes, occur when we breathe in something that we are allergic to. Atopic dermatitis is a type of eczema, which is a chronic skin disorder that could come from allergies or asthma. Tranilast is mainly found in Japan and South Korea and was used there for almost 2 decades, before being introduced to the U.S. and Canada (21). The United States and Canada could really benefit from this drug, because it has so many uses.

Tranilast was tested in a pre-clinical trail, led by St. Michael’s pathologist, Doctor Gerald Prud’homme, and found to be a potential chemotherapy agent from breast cancer and targets the cells (41, 24). Dr, Prud’homme injected fully developed breast cancer cells into two groups of mice. One group was injected with Tranilast, and the other was not. In fifty percent of the group treated with Tranilast, it reduced the growth of the primary cancerous tumor and stopped it from spreading to the lungs. The drug is in attempt to try and target breast cancer cells, in addition to stopping the spread of the cancer (21, 23). The Tranilast treatment for targeting breast cancer cells that are resistant to chemotherapy is almost completely developed. Tranilast inhibits antigen-induced release of mediators from breast cancer cells (28). Sometimes metastases to the bones, lungs, and the liver can be major obstacles in the treatment of breast cancer. Metastasis is the spread of diseases from organ to organ (38).

Tranilast is an orally admitted compound that is anti-tumor and anti-metastatic in models of cancer. Tranilast was used previously to treat allergy and fibrotic disorders, with few side effects (16). In this case, Tranilast is being used to reduce the growth of the primary tumor in patients, and reducing metastases to the lungs (17). The reduction of the primary tumor is done when Tranilast block the cell cycle progression of the cancer. A current study is taking place to investigate the treatment of Tranilast (18). Later in the study, it was observed that the anti-cancer effect of Tranilast reduced breast cancer cell growth migration. Tranilast is also found to be a multi-action drug, because it targets multiple cancerous cell lines (19). It is found that Tranilast shows promise to be an effective breast cancer therapy, but its potential role in the treatment of breast cancer has not yet been found (20).

Cancer Stem Cells (CSC’s) and cancer initiating cells (CIC’s) are more resistant to chemotherapy and more effective drugs are needed to target these cells (39). It was hypothesized that Tranilast would inhibit CSC’s by targeting breast cancer cells through multiple pathways (4). When Tranilast was injected into cultures, the results showed that the drug inhibited formation of CSC colonies, making them smaller in size and less prevalent (6). A study was conducted where surviving Cancer Stem Cells (breast cancer cells) were injected into mice to see how Tranilast would react to the cancer cells. The result indicated that Tranilast inhibited the cell cycle of breast cancer cells and reduced the size of the colony formations (4, 6 ). The drug also inhibited the mammosphere and suppressed the formation in the mammosphere culture of the CSC’s (40). Tranilast, by studies and experiments, has been shown to stop the formation of breast cancer cells and inhibit the formation of colonies of cells.

Tranilast is also plays a key part for treatment desmoid tumors, which arise in deep, soft tissue and have a tendency for recurrence. Tranilast helps to stabilize the tumor as witnessed in a case of a 48-year-old Japanese man (27). A tumor was found in the left chest wall of this man. He was orally administered 300 mg of Tranilast three times daily. Immediately after starting the therapy, "The size of the tumor did not change and the tumor seemed stabilized" (Goto, 7). After six months of the orally administered Tranilast, the stabilized tumor began to decrease in size. Two years and two months later, the tumor size continued to decrease and the three times daily dose of Tranilast was discontinued. The tumor disappeared almost completely. Also, an examination after stopping the Tranilast dosage showed that there was no recurrence of the tumor in the chest wall of the man (29). Tranilast seems like a desirable therapeutic agent for the desmoid tumors in people. To see how Tranilast really works, further studies with large amounts of people must be done to see if the drug can continually cure desmoid tumors. It can be considered an alternate for surgery to those who have desmoid tumors and cannot or refuse to have surgery.

Crohn's disease is an inflammatory disease that usually occurs in the intestines, but could arise in other places too. Complications of Crohn’s disease could be fibrosis or strictures, which are abnormal constrictions of organs and other structures (34). Tranilast has been proven to inhibit fibrosis in several different experimental models (11). In a previous experiment, 24 patients with Crohn’s disease and intestinal strictures were studied. Half of the patients were randomly chosen to be the experimental group and the other half the control group (36). The experimental group was given Tranilast three times daily, after every meal, while the control group was not treated with anything. At first, there was no significant change in the experimental group when compared to the control group. Later on, it was found that the experimental group, who were given the 200 mg dosage of Tranilast, had a change with the intestinal strictures. Tranilast affected the strictures in a positive way and could possibly be a long-term therapy for those who have Crohn’s disease (12). Tranilast can prevent the development of these strictures so no one has to deal with them in the first place in the patients with Crohn’s disease.

Arthritis is experienced in many people and scientists are doing their best to try and prevent it. Rheumatoid arthritis, which is inflammation of the joints and surrounding tissues, was tested in mice, to see if Tranilast can reduce it (30). In Japan, collagen-induced arthritis was induced immunologically and injected into the root of the mice’s tails. Twenty-one days later, the mice where given a booster injection. Symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis were seen one week after the booster injection (31). Three weeks after the booster injection, some of the mice experienced established arthritis and some did not. The two different experiences of the mice separated them into two groups, those with established arthritis and those without established arthritis. The group with the established arthritis received a 400 mg dose of Tranilast orally once a day for an eight week period. Previously, a report showed that in the mice with established arthritis, the dosage of Tranilast inhibited the arthritis (15). In this study, the mice treated with Tranilast showed a blunted growth in the arthritis accompanied by decreased swelling. In addition, it was found that in the mice with established arthritis, Tranilast prevented effective progression of chronic collagen-induced arthritis. The mice with no initial established arthritis were made the control (32). The control group, after seven to eight weeks, developed severe rheumatoid arthritis and was then treated with Tranilast. In as quickly as one week, the drug took affect and blunted the swelling in the vehicle mice. Tranilast is very effective in treating arthritis, as well as asthma.

Diabetes has taken over the bodies of many people all over the world. A report showed that Tranilast slowed the progression rate of advanced diabetic nephropathy (DN) (3). In a study that took place in 2002, twenty patients with both Diabetic Nephropathy and type 2 diabetes were selected for study. They were then divided into two groups at random. One group was treated with 100 mg does of Tranilast three times daily and the other group was not treated with anything. No patients dropped out of the study and there were no side effects of Tranilast. It turned out that the group that received the dosage of Tranilast had a higher average age, but the ages were comparable. The group treated with Tranilast had decreased excretion in those patients with Diabetic Nephropathy. The treatment of Tranilast is useful in the therapy for ending the progression of DN (33).

Although Tranilast is only an asthma drug, it had become very versatile in stabilizing and preventing growth of harmful cells, and treating various bodily disorders. Breast cancer can be dangerous disease that can lead to death if not treated right, but with Tranilast, the tumor’s growth can be inhibited. Also, the drug can stop colony formation of the cancer cells. With desmoid tumors, Tranilast can stabilize the tumor and eventually reduce the size of it, as seen in the case study of the 48-year-old man. A study done to test Tranilast’s affect on Crohn’s disease showed that the patients given the drug were relieved of their intestinal strictures and the control group was not. Arthritis was tested using mice in Japan, to see if Tranilast would reduce joint swelling. The results showed that the swelling was reduced after the administration of Tranilast. Tranilast was also used in a study to see if it could help treat Diabetic Nephropathy. The group given Tranilast had reduced excretion and relief of those symptoms. Tranilast has various uses and in some cases, can end up saving lives. The thought that a drug used only for treating asthma disorders has been found to treat other serious disorders is remarkable. There is great hope for the future, because of the new medical breakthroughs for the use of Tranilast.