Treatment of Tumors by the Inhibition of Angiogenesis
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State-of-the-Art
Tumors are treated by surgery, radiation, chemotherapy and/or biotherapy dependent on their type and location. The only FDA approved biotherapeutic to date is Bevacizumab (anti-vascular endothelial growth factor) that inhibits blood flow to a tumor so it "starves". Bevacizumab is more effective in some cases in a treatment cocktail with the biotherapeutic erlotinib (anti-epidermal growth factor receptor). However, bevacizumab is most commonly used with a chemotherapeutic agent such as irinotecan.
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Problem
Bevacizumab, especially in combination with a chemotherapeutic, has a number of potentially serious side effects including hemorrhage, hypertensive crises, congestive heart failure, and nephrotic syndrome. The most common adverse events of any severity among the 742 patients receiving AVASTIN in Genentech-sponsored studies were pain, abdominal pain, headache, hypertension, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, anorexia, constipation, upper respiratory infection, and proteinuria.
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Solution
Dr. Roman has shown in the current technology a method for reducing angiogenesis in a tissue of a human or non-human mammal comprising the step of: administering an agent selected from a 20-HETE synthesis inhibitor or a 20-HETE antagonist to the human or non-human mammal in an amount sufficient to reduce angiogenesis in the tissue. Diseases and conditions that are associated with abnormal, excessive blood vessel development, such as tumor formation, can be treated or prevented by the method of the present invention. To date no ADME/toxicology studies are completed, but it is hoped that 20-HETE inhibitors or antagonists can show increased efficacy and decreased side effects compared to bevacizumab and chemotherapeutic agents.
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Benefit
Tumor treatment varies dependent on the tissue and cancer type. Any treatment that can increase efficacy while decreasing side-effects is valuable to the patient and holds promise for significant revenue.
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Stage of Development
The technology has been tested in vitro and initial animal studies. Results show that both 20-HETE antagonists and inhibitors of 20-HETE production are anti-angiogenic.