Lidocaine Triggers Apoptosis in Sarcomas

Wow! A fascinating new pre-clinical study posits that in the future, the common numbing agent lidocaine might be used to treat cancer. It turns out that lidocaine activates a taste receptor that registers bitter flavors. Once that receptor (T2R14) is activated, it starts apoptosis, the natural cell suicide that cancer typically avoids. As of now, the team investigating lidocaine has looked at head and neck cancers, but they believe other cancers might also be treated with lidocaine, because the T2R14 receptor is common in many cancer types. Will veterinarians start using lidocaine to treat cancer? Probably not yet … this is new research and protocols need to be investigated. However, it’s exciting to think about!