Chemotherapy for Cancer

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Case Number 98UMC021 Abstract Chemotherapy is a widely used and effective form of treatment for many types of human cancers. However, a relatively small number of effective chemotherapeutic agents are available, and their use is complicated by the development of drug resistance by the tumors being treated. Currently, potential chemotherapy drugs are screened initially for their effect on the growth of human or murine tumor cells in culture. This type of screen is expensive, time consuming, and does not provide information on the mode of action of the drug. The current invention developed by researchers at University of Missouri is a method employing the model organism Dictyostelium discoideum for rapid and inexpensive screening of large numbers of compounds for their ability to damage DNA as assessed by the induction of DNA repair enzymes. Simultaneous determination of cell viability allows for the identification of novel drugs with anti-cancer activity. POTENTIAL AREAS OF APPLICATIONS Discover chemotherapy drugs that induce DNA damage but not DNA repair Discover chemotherapy drugs with no effects on DNA and DNA repair Discover chemotherapy potentiators that suppress DNA repair Discover cancer preventing drugs that induce DNA repair enzymes without damaging DNA MAIN ADVANTAGES OF INVENTION Fast, simple, and inexpensive Does not involve animals or animal cells Provides information on mechanism of action of drugs Simultaneous monitoring of cell viability and induction of DNA repair STATE OF DEVELOPMENT Concept has been tested using known cancer drugs LICENSING POTENTIAL University seeks licensee with potential to commercialize PATENT STATUS: US patents 6,746,843 and 6,867,034 TAXONOMY Technology Categories/Target Validation/Human Biomedical & Biotechnology Technology Categories/Drug Discovery/Medical Technology Categories/DNA and RNA tools/Research Tools Technology Categories/Model Systems/Research Tools Keywords UM-Columbia, UMC