Anticonvulsant Depakote may Lower Risk of Head, Neck Cancers

A recent study shows that the anti-seizure medication valproic acid (Depakote) that's prescribed to prevent seizures and may also be used to control mood, could help to reduce the risk of some head and neck cancers.

Based on a study of nearly 440,000 U.S. veterans, including around 27,000 who were taking valproic acid for bipolar disorder, migraines, seizures and/or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), results showed that those who took the medication for one year were 34 percent less likely to develop head and neck cancers than those who didn't take the drug.

According to Dr. Johann Christoph Brandes, a researcher with the Atlanta Veterans Affairs Medical Center and the lead study author, this seizure-medication could one day become a cost-effective alternative for doctors to use for cancers involving the larynx, salivary glands or the oral cavity.

"Head and neck cancer is an important global health crisis," he said, via a press release. "Low cost and low toxicity prevention strategies like VPA use have a high potential impact on pain, suffering, costs, and mortality associated with this disease."

The drug inhibits so-called histone acetyl transferases-a process that otherwise helps canceruos cells stay alive.

As statistics show that an estimated 52,000 U.S. men and women are annually diagnosed with nose, mouth and throat cancers, according to the National Cancer Institute, this drug could help to lower those numbers.

"It is clear that a percentage of patients at high risk of developing head and neck cancers could receive benefit from VPA use or similarly active alternate agents," he noted, via MedScape.com. "This is a good thing since it provides proof of concept that head and neck cancers can be prevented with pharmacologically active agents."

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