A new drug candidate for thyroid cancer

The thyroid stimulating hormone receptor (TSHR) could be a selective target for the treatment of thyroid cancer. In this study, researchers report the discovery of a novel orally-administerable TSHR ligand, selected from a sub-library of over 200 TSHR ligands. The ligand exhibits inhibitory activity against thyroid tumor cell proliferation, both in vitro and in vivo. The ligand is also capable of inhibiting metastasis in vivo. The inhibition of tumor growth by this ligand, evaluated in mice, was associated with an absence of apparent toxicity: no weight loss, no impact on liver function.