First Animal Model of Human Cancer Bone Metastasis Developed.SAN DIEGO--(BW HealthWire)--Oct. 9, 1998--At the 7th International Congress of the Metastasis metastasis /me·tas·ta·sis/ (me-tas´tah-sis) pl. metas´tases 1. transfer of disease from one organ or part of the body to another not directly connected with it, due either to transfer of pathogenic microorganisms or to Research Society being held in San Diego San Diego (săn dēā`gō), city (1990 pop. 1,110,549), seat of San Diego co., S Calif., on San Diego Bay; inc. 1850. San Diego includes the unincorporated communities of La Jolla and Spring Valley. Coronado is across the bay. this weekend, AntiCancer, Inc., announced a new mouse model of human metastatic Metastatic The term used to describe a secondary cancer, or one that has spread from one area of the body to another. Mentioned in: Coagulation Disorders metastatic pertaining to or of the nature of a metastasis. lung cancer lung cancer, cancer that originates in the tissues of the lungs. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the United States in both men and women. Like other cancers, lung cancer occurs after repeated insults to the genetic material of the cell. . Tumors that spread or metastasize me·tas·ta·size v. To be transmitted or transferred by or as if by metastasis. Metastasize Spread of cells from the original site of the cancer to other parts of the body where secondary tumors are formed. to the bone are a major clinical problem of many types of cancers including lung, prostate, and breast, which are three of the most common cancers. Once these cancers have spread to the bone, it is usually lethal to the patient and causes great pain and suffering. Current therapeutics are not very effective when these cancers reach this stage. One of the key factors that has limited the development of effective therapeutics for bone metastasis in cancer has been the lack of accurate animal models in which to test and develop effective new drugs. AntiCancer has utilized two of its patented proprietary technologies to develop a new model of cancer metastasis to the bone that faithfully represents the cancer patient. The first technology involved genetically engineering the cancer cells cells once believed to be peculiar to cancers, but now know to be epithelial cells differing in no respect from those found elsewhere in the body, and distinguished only by peculiarity of location and grouping. See also: Cancer with a fluorescent protein. This genetic manipulation makes the cancer cells highly fluorescent and allows them to be visualized in any organ in the animal. The second technology AntiCancer utilized was its patented transplantation technology that allowed the fluorescent lung tumor to be transplanted directly in the lung of special immunodeficient Immunodeficient A condition in which the body's immune response is damaged, weakened, or is not functioning properly. Mentioned in: AIDS mice in which human tumor tissues can grow. The result was that the fluorescent lung tumor was visualized to metastasize to many areas of the skeleton. This is the first animal model in which the tumor has been shown to metastasize from the original organ into the skeleton. The skeletal metastasis were visualized by the tumor's high genetically-engineered fluorescence. A paper describing this work has just been published in the latest issue of the journal "Cancer Research." Dr. Andrew Perry, President of AntiCancer's A/C Diagnostics Division, said, "With this new animal model of skeletal metastasis of lung cancer, we have for the first time the opportunity to develop effective drugs for bone metastasis." Dr. Perry also commented that the development of this new animal model is very timely, "since so many researchers have had the need for improved animal models of cancer." AntiCancer, Inc., is a privately held biotechnology company located in San Diego. The company was founded in 1984 to develop products for cancer treatment. |
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