Advectus Life Sciences
Inc. have announced the results of two clinical research studies
examining the effectiveness of its patented nanoparticle
technology in the treatment of brain tumors.
Advectus Scientific
Advisory Board members — Drs. Jorg Kreuter and Svetlana
Gelperina — tested the effectiveness of and established dosage
levels for the anti-tumor drug— doxorubicin — when adhered to
a nanoparticle and coated with polysorbate-80.
The dosage level study is
a follow-up to a previously published study conducted by Dr.
Kreuter that indicated that with the help of nanoparticles,
anti-tumor drugs such as doxorubicin could be delivered across the
blood-brain barrier when they were combined with polysorbate-80.
According to the American
Brain Tumor Association, over 180,000 Americans will be diagnosed
with brain tumors in 2002. Brain tumors are the leading cause of
cancer-related death in children and young adults (ages 10 – 29)
and with the exception of leukemia, brain tumors kill more
children under the age of 10 than all other cancers combined. In
addition, brain tumors can kill at any age, they also affect the
elderly, and are the second fastest growing cause of
cancer-related death among adults over age 65.
The combined results of
these studies indicate that the medical treatments using
nanotechnology may eventually provide a cure for malignant brain
tumors. To date, the treatment of malignant brain tumors using
drugs has been limited as the drugs had to pass through the
brain’s natural defense shield—the blood-brain barrier. The
blood-brain barrier works to protect the brain but also prevents
substances such as cancer-treatment drugs from getting through.
This study looked specifically at glioblastomas—fast growing,
malignant tumors—which commonly invade adjacent tissue and
spread throughout the central nervous system.
