Targeting arginine metabolism as a potential therapy for ovarian cancer

Tumour cells alter their metabolism to maintain uncontrolled growth, but this can create a dependency in some tumours on the supply of certain nutrients, such as amino acids. Drugs that reduce the levels in the blood of one specific amino acid, arginine, are known to be effective against some cancers, but historically not ovarian cancer. However, we have discovered that by combining arginine depleting therapy with the latest treatment for ovarian cancer, we can get much better responses in animal models than by using each drug on its own. We are now trying to understand the effects that arginine deprivation has on cancer cells that lead to the benefits of combination therapy in various cancer models. Knowing this is crucial if we want to target these therapies to the patients that are most likely to benefit.