Common antiparasitic drug shows promise in halting growth of aggressive skin cancer (Merkel cell carcinoma & Pyrvinium pamoate)

A common pinworm medication may stop and reverse cancer growth in Merkel cell carcinoma, an aggressive form of skin cancer, according to research. Merkel cell carcinoma is a rare but fast-growing neuroendocrine cancer that is three to five times more likely than melanoma to be deadly. Response rates to current therapies are limited, resulting in a need for effective and broadly applicable therapeutics. Pyrvinium pamoate, a medication approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 1955 to treat pinworms, has been shown to have antitumor potential in several different cancers, including breast, colorectal, pancreatic and bladder cancers. This is the...