University of Florida researchers published findings in the European Respiratory Journal that reveal talcum powder stimulates healthy cells to produce endostatin.

The study showed that endostatin is produced because the talc stimulates healthy cells to produce it. Endostatin is a hormone that is considered to be the "magic bullet" for treating metastatic lung cancer. The researchers believe that talc is a new therapeutic agent that has the ability to stunt cancer growth by cutting the flow of blood to metastatic lung tumors. Dr. Veena Antony, professor of pulmonary medicine and chief of pulmonary and critical care medicine at the University of Florida explained that talc is able to prevent the formation of blood vessels, killing the tumor and choking off its growth. Antony stated that the tumors appeared to grow much slower and in some cases completely disappear.

It was only recently discovered that talcum powder slows down tumor growth, even though it has been used for 70 years or more to treat the respiratory problems that go along with metastatic lung cancer. Malignant pleural effusion (fluid around the surface of the lungs) occurs in about half of all metastatic lung cancer patinets, and it can impair breathing and cause shortness of breath according to Dr. Antony.
Pleural effusions mean that, in most cases, the underlying cancer, which could have begun in the breast, lung or gastrointestinal tract, has spread all over the body, and the prognosis is poor with most deaths occurring within six months. To make these patients with a poor prognosis more comfortable, physicians try to close the extra space between the lung and chest wall where fluid collects. They glue the two surfaces together and talc is blown into the patients' chest cavity to irritate the tissue creating tiny abrasions. When the lung tissue heals, it is permanently adhered to the chest wall without affecting the patients' breathing. This procedure is called medical thoracoscopy with talc pleurodesis and the effects are immediate and permanent. It spares the patient and family unneccessary suffering and has been used extensively in Europe -- showing less acceptance in the United States. Talc for use in medical thoracoscopy was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2003, but the outpatient procedure is performed in very few places in the US -- The University of Florida being one of these places where the procedure is performed routinely.

The medical community has noted that patients who have a medical thoracoscopy with talcum powder live long than expected -- up to 18 months. To understand why, Dr. Antony compared lung fluid from 16 patients with malignant pleural effusions before and after doctors dusted their lungs with talc, and found that talc added benefits besides causing scarring and taking away fluid that surrounds the lung. Dr Anthony found that cells that cover the lining of the lung are stimulated by the talc to produce a factor that inhibits the growth of blood vessels and kills the tumor cells.

Shortly after the talc treatment - sometimes less than a day - patients begin to produce higher levels of endostatin, which is released by healthy lung cells and prevents new blood vessels from forming. Endostatin also slows cell growth and movement and induces nearby tumor cells to disappear. All of this makes it hard for tumors to grow and spread into healthy lung tissue.

When it was first discovered in 1977, endostatin was thought to be a possible cure for cancer; however, clincial trials have proved otherwise. Dr. Antony believes that the hormone breaks down in the body before it has a chance to slow the spread of cancer. But, as Dr. Antony pointed out, talc doesn't go away, staying in the chest cavity causing normal cells to produce this factor that inhibits the growth of the tumor. The University of Florida findings are considered to be significant and will influence future clinical trials that deal with the treatment of pleural malignancies like lung cancer, mesothelioma and metastatic adenocarcinoma involving the pleural surfaces.

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