New Drug Developed To Target And Destroy Tumor Cells Successful In Mouse Model Of Pancreatic Cancer

Main Category: Pancreatic Cancer
Article Date: 21 Oct 2012 - 0:00 PDT Current ratings for:
New Drug Developed To Target And Destroy Tumor Cells Successful In Mouse Model Of Pancreatic Cancer

A new drug created at the University of Minnesota may hold the answer to defeating pancreatic cancer, according to results published in the prestigious journal Science Translational Medicine.

The study is based on successful outcomes in a mouse model - results researchers expect to carry over to human patients when the drug potentially begins human trials in 2013.

The drug, Minnelide, is a type of injectable chemotherapy designed to target tumor cells. The drug works by inhibiting a heat shock protein, HSP 70, which has been proven to aid the growth of tumor cells. By stopping HSP 70 from working, Minnelide disperses the cells integral to the tumor's growth and the cancer disintegrates.

The drug is based on patented technology designed in the labs of Ashok Saluja, Ph.D., professor and vice chair of research in the University of Minnesota Medical School's Department of Surgery, Selwyn Vickers, M.D., chairman of the Department of Surgery, and Gunda Georg, Ph.D., director of the Institute for Therapeutics Discovery and Development in the College of Pharmacy. Bruce Blazar, M.D., director of the Center for Translational Medicine, also partnered on this project.

Pancreatic cancer is the most lethal of all cancers. This year alone, more than 44,000 Americans will be diagnosed with the disease and the median survival time following a pancreatic cancer diagnosis is just six months.

"A diagnosis of pancreatic cancer is incredibly grim. There is no good way to treat or cure this particular type of cancer," said Saluja, who holds the Eugene C. and Gail V. Sit Chair in Pancreatic and Gastrointestinal Cancer Research, "and the best options currently available offer just six weeks of added survival. It is far from tackling the real problem which is that pancreatic cancer tumor cells make survival proteins, rendering them increasingly difficult to defeat."

In 2007, Saluja and his collaborators discovered pancreatic cancer cells have too much HSP 70, which protects cells from dying. Because of this excess protein, pancreatic cancer cells are difficult to target with drugs, meaning the logical next step in fighting the cancer was to determine how to inhibit HSP 70 in these tumor cells.

Saluja found that triptolide, a compound derived from plants in China, worked to halt the development of HSP 70 in tumor cells, but because triptolide is not water soluble, it was still difficult to administer to patients. The Institute for Therapeutics Discovery and Development at the University of Minnesota, in collaboration with the Saluja lab, worked to make triptolide water soluble. They named their drug Minnelide as a nod to the compound from which it was derived, triptolide, and its discovery location, the University of Minnesota.

Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release. Click 'references' tab above for source.
Visit our pancreatic cancer section for the latest news on this subject.
The University of Minnesota holds the patent on the modifying factors that create Minnelide from triptolide. It has been licensed to Minneamrita Therapeutics LLC for production.

Funding for this research was provided by NIH grants R01CA124723 and R01 CA170496, as well as the Katherine and Robert Goodale Foundation and the Hirshberg Foundation.

University of Minnesota Academic Health Center

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Blood Test Developed That Accurately Detects Early Stages Of Lung, Breast Cancer In Humans

Main Category: Lung Cancer
Also Included In: Breast Cancer;  Pancreatic Cancer
Article Date: 28 Sep 2012 - 1:00 PDT Current ratings for:
Blood Test Developed That Accurately Detects Early Stages Of Lung, Breast Cancer In Humans

Researchers at Kansas State University have developed a simple blood test that can accurately detect the beginning stages of cancer.

In less than an hour, the test can detect breast cancer and non-small cell lung cancer -- the most common type of lung cancer -- before symptoms like coughing and weight loss start. The researchers anticipate testing for the early stages of pancreatic cancer shortly.

The test was developed by Stefan Bossmann, professor of chemistry, and Deryl Troyer, professor of anatomy and physiology. Both are also researchers affiliated with Kansas State University's Johnson Cancer Research Center and the University of Kansas Cancer Center. Gary Gadbury, professor of statistics at Kansas State University, helped analyze the data from tests with lung and breast cancer patients. The results, data and analysis were recently submitted to the Kansas Bio Authority for accelerated testing.

"We see this as the first step into a new arena of investigation that could eventually lead to improved early detection of human cancers," Troyer said. "Right now the people who could benefit the most are those classified as at-risk for cancer, such as heavy smokers and people who have a family history of cancer. The idea is these at-risk groups could go to their physician's office quarterly or once a year, take an easy-to-do, noninvasive test, and be told early on whether cancer has possibly developed."

The researchers say the test would be repeated a short time later. If cancer is confirmed, diagnostic imaging could begin that would otherwise not be routinely pursued.

According to the American Cancer Society, an estimated 39,920 breast cancer deaths and 160,340 lung cancer deaths are expected in the U.S. in 2012.

With the exception of breast cancer, most types of cancer can be categorized in four stages based on tumor growth and the spread of cancer cells throughout the body. Breast and lung cancer are typically found and diagnosed in stage 2, the stage when people often begin exhibiting symptoms such as pain, fatigue and coughing. Numerous studies show that the earlier cancer is detected, the greater chance a person has against the disease.

"The problem, though, is that nobody knows they're in stage 1," Bossmann said. "There is often not a red flag to warn that something is wrong. Meanwhile, the person is losing critical time."

The test developed by Kansas State University's Bossmann and Troyer works by detecting increased enzyme activity in the body. Iron nanoparticles coated with amino acids and a dye are introduced to small amounts of blood or urine from a patient. The amino acids and dye interact with enzymes in the patient's urine or blood sample. Each type of cancer produces a specific enzyme pattern, or signature, that can be identified by doctors.

"These enzyme patterns can also help distinguish between cancer and an infection or other diseases that commonly occur in the human body," Bossmann said. "For example, a person who smokes a lot of cigars may develop an inflammation in their lungs. That will drive up some of the markers in the test but not all of them. Doctors will be able to see whether there was too much smoke inhalation or if there is something more serious going on. False-positives are something that we really want to avoid."

Once the test is administered, comprehensive results -- which include enzyme patterns -- are produced in roughly 60 minutes.

Bossmann and Troyer have designed a second testing method that is anticipated to produce the same results in about five minutes. The team recently received $305,000 in funding for this project from the National Science Foundation's Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental and Transport Systems.

In addition to early detection, researchers say the test can be tweaked to monitor cancer. For example, patients being treated with drugs can be observed for drug effectiveness. Similarly, doctors can use the dye in the test to determine if the entirety of a tumor has been successfully removed from a patient after surgery.

Researchers evaluated the test's accuracy on 32 separate participants in various stages of breast or lung cancer. Data was collected from 20 people with breast cancer -- ranging in age from 36 to 81 years old -- and 12 people with lung cancer -- ranging in age from 27 to 63 years old.

Twelve people without cancer were also tested as a control group. This group ranged in age from 26 to 62 years old.

A blood sample from each participant was tested three times. Analysis of the data showed a 95 percent success rate in detecting cancer in participants, including those with breast cancer in stages 0 and 1 and those with lung cancer in stages 1 and 2.

Tests detecting for pancreatic cancer are anticipated to begin in October as part of Bossmann and Troyer's collaboration with Dr. Stephen Williamson at the University of Kansas Medical Center. Blood samples from triple-negative breast cancer patients will be tested this fall in collaboration with Dr. Priyanka Sharma, who is also at the University of Kansas Medical Center.

Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release. Click 'references' tab above for source.
Visit our lung cancer section for the latest news on this subject. Funding for the study -- titled "Functionalized Bimagnetic Core/Shell Fe/FE3O4 Stealth Nanoparticles for Diag & Treatment Cancer" -- was originally provided through a subcontract of a National Institutes of Health phase II Small Business Innovation Research grant to NanoScale Corp., a Manhattan-based company that manufactures, markets and commercializes advanced products and technologies, and by the Johnson Cancer Rsearch Center at Kansas State University. A Small Business Innovation Research grant is awarded to small businesses with a university partner for the purpose of accelerating research to enter the commercial marketplace.
Kansas State University Please use one of the following formats to cite this article in your essay, paper or report:

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'Blood Test Developed That Accurately Detects Early Stages Of Lung, Breast Cancer In Humans'

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