The study found that a lab-made GHRH blocker (MZ-5-156) can shut down a signaling protein (FAK) and lower levels of molecules that help lung cancer cells grow new blood vessels and invade tissue, but this was only shown in cell dishes and uses a compound not available to the public.

Lung cancers which show increased vascularization and high microvessel density are considered highly metastatic and with poor prognosis. Growth hormone releasing hormone (GHRH) antagonists are anticancer agents without adverse events in lung cancer tumor models. In the present study we investigated the in vitro effect of GHRH antagonist, MZ-5-156, on focal adhesion kinase (FAK) activity, on the expression of MMP-2 and MMP-9 metalloproteinases, as well as on vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) levels in A549 non-small cell lung (NSCLC) cancer cells and H727 bronchial carcinoid cells. We demonstrate for the first time that GHRH antagonist, MZ-5-156, inhibits FAK signaling in lung cancer cells and decreases the expression of additional factors involved in angiogenesis and invasion. In contrast, GHRH itself counteracted these effects. Our study contributes to the further understanding of the processes which govern the mechanism of action of GHRH and its antagonists in cancers.