An antitoxidant formulation that induces differentiation of neuroblastoma in culture

Neuroblastoma, the most common of all cancers found in children, may arise from a block of differentiation and a resultant continuation of the proliferative state. Neuroblastoma often spontaneously revert by undergoing partial differentiation and ultimate degeneration. A useful therapeutic approach for clinical neuroblastoma may encompass strategies to force neuroblastoma to differentiate. In ongoing studies on neuronal health, we have developed an anti-oxidant synergy formulation (“ASF”), comprised of α-tocopherol (vitamin E), sodium pyruvate and phosphatidyl choline, which lessens neurotoxicity and promotes axonal elaboration in cultured neurons. We demonstrate herein that ASF prevents proliferation and promotes differentiation of neuroblastoma in culture, even in the presence of serum, which normally induces rapid neuroblastoma proliferation in culture. These data leave open the possibility that ASF, with proper administration, may foster differentiation, and therefore ultimate degeneration, of neuroblastoma in situ, and may therefore represent a novel approach towards suppression of clinical neuroblastoma.