John Stamos - Public Service Announcement
Ex-Vivo Apoptotic (EVA-PCD™) Assay Confirms Efficacy of Chemosensitivity Testing
Long Beach, CA -- May 15, 1997 -- Researchers at Rational Therapeutics™ (Long Beach, CA) have developed a method to determine chemotherapy-induced apoptosis in individual cancer cells, thereby providing a reliable predictive indicator of a patient’s response to chemotherapy.
The Ex-Vivo Apoptotic (EVA-PCD™) assay measures cancer cell death which occurs as a result of exposure to drugs. The mechanism behind the EVA-PCD™ assay is based on delayed loss of cell membrane integrity (Cancer Research, Sept. 15, 1993) which has been shown to correlate with response and survival in human cancer (Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Oct. 1991). The EVA-PCD™ assay accomplishes in the test tube what could only be otherwise done by giving a patient multiple courses of chemotherapy to find out which of the 60-plus chemotherapy drugs are most likely to kill the patient’s cancer cells. Using the results, an oncologist can customize a unique treatment plan for each patient.
The Ex Vivo Apoptotic (EVA-PCD™) assay is based on the now accepted scientific premise that cancer cells do not necessarily grow too much, but instead die too little. In other words, cancer cells simply forget to die and hence accumulate into what are recognized as tumors. Taking this fact into account, the EVA-PCD™ assay provides a robust measure of drug-induced cell death in the laboratory. Revealing a patient’s drug sensitivity or resistance is invaluable information for the oncologist. All that is required to perform the EVA-PCD™ assay is a biopsy specimen of the patient’s cancer tissue or a blood/bone marrow sample for leukemias and lymphomas.
"By individualizing treatment plans, we are able to increase response and survival," said Robert Nagourney, M.D., medical director of Rational Therapeutics™. "While the EVA-PCD™ assay is not a ‘magic bullet,’ it is a proven, highly accurate means of matching drugs to patients to achieve the best possible outcomes."
Oncologists practicing in the late 1970’s and early 80’s will recall earlier attempts at chemosensitivity testing that were based on the Human Tumor Colony Assay (HTCA) which relied on cell-growth endpoints. This technology proved to be largely ineffective, and the field of chemosensitivity testing research fell dormant among researchers and oncologists. The EVA-PCD™ assay with its apoptotic endpoint is markedly different from HTCA and other earlier, more cumbersome and less accurate techniques.
After more than 15 years of development and intense scrutiny, the EVA-PCD™ assay is achieving positive results in patients with even the most advanced stages of cancer (detailed case studies available). On average, patients whose cancer cells are found sensitive in the EVA-PCD™ assay are 2 to 3 times more likely to respond to a drug treatment than patients to whom chemotherapy is administered via standard protocols which are reported by the National Cancer Institute.
Rational Therapeutics™ is a leading cancer research center specializing in EVA-PCD™ assay therapy applications. The center is located at 3601 Elm Avenue, Long Beach, CA 90807; Tel. (562) 989-6455; Fax (562) 989-6454; Web http://www.rational-t.com.
Editor’s note: Numerous studies reporting the efficacy of the EVA-PCD™ assay are available. Representatives from Rational Therapeutics™ will be present at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting (May 17-20), Booth 650.
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