Single injection may revolutionize melanoma treatment, Moffitt study shows

Injectable dye shows promise as possible immunotherapy option for melanoma patients

2013-08-23

(Press-News.org) A new study at Moffitt Cancer Center could offer hope to people with melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer. Researchers are investigating whether an injectable known as PV-10 can shrink tumors and reduce the spread of cancer. PV-10 is a solution developed from Rose Bengal, a water-soluble dye commonly used to stain damaged cells in the eye. Early clinical trials show PV-10 can boost immune response in melanoma tumors, as well as the blood stream.

"Various injection therapies for melanoma have been examined over the past 40 years, but few have shown the promising results we are seeing with PV-10," said Shari Pilon-Thomas, Ph.D., assistant member of Moffitt's Immunology Program.

In the initial study, researchers injected a single dose of PV-10 into mice with melanoma. The result was a significant reduction in the skin cancer lesions, as well as a sizable reduction in melanoma tumors that had spread to the lungs. The researchers said the dye solution appeared to produce a robust anti-tumor immune response and may be safer than existing immunological agents.

"We are currently in the middle of our first human clinical trial of PV-10 for advanced melanoma patients. In addition to monitoring the response of injected melanoma tumors, we are also measuring the boost in the anti-tumor immune cells of patients after injection," explained Amod A. Sarnaik, M.D., assistant member of Moffitt's Cutaneous Oncology Program.

### The initial study appears in PLOS ONE, an open-access, peer-reviewed online journal. It was supported by a sponsored research agreement with Provectus Pharmaceuticals, Inc., developer of PV-10.

About Moffitt Cancer Center Located in Tampa, Moffitt is one of only 41 National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers, a distinction that recognizes Moffitt's excellence in research, its contributions to clinical trials, prevention and cancer control. Since 1999, Moffitt has been listed in U.S. News & World Report as one of "America's Best Hospitals" for cancer. With more than 4,200 employees, Moffitt has an economic impact on the state of nearly $2 billion. For more information, visit MOFFITT.org, and follow the Moffitt momentum on Facebook, twitter and YouTube.

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Brain size may signal risk of developing an eating disorder

2013-08-22

AURORA, Colo. (August 22, 2013) - New research indicates that teens with anorexia nervosa have bigger brains than teens that do not have the eating disorder. That is according to a study by researchers at the University of Colorado's School of Medicine that examined a group of adolescents with anorexia nervosa and a group without. They found that girls with anorexia nervosa had a larger insula, a part of the brain that is active when we taste food, and a larger orbitofrontal cortex, a part of the brain that tells a person when to stop eating. Guido Frank, MD, assistant ...

Lower-cost drug substitutions could mean big savings for Medicare patients, government

2013-08-22

As everyone knows, medications are expensive, and even with insurance coverage, patients' out-of-pocket drug costs can be quite hefty. This holds true for individuals with Medicare Part D, also known as the prescription drug benefit, which subsidizes the cost of medications for about 28 million Medicare beneficiaries. About one-fifth of these Part D beneficiaries have out-of-pocket costs that top $100 a month. As a result, some 10 percent are forced to use less medication than prescribed due to financial hardship. And while the program's low-income subsidy can help ...

Gladstone scientists transform non-beating human cells into heart-muscle cells

2013-08-22

VIDEO: This is a 3D image of a heart muscle cell that has been derived from a fibroblast via a process called direct reprogramming. Direct reprogramming allows one cell type to... Click here for more information. SAN FRANCISCO, CA—August 22, 2013—In the aftermath of a heart attack, cells within the region most affected shut down. They stop beating. And they become entombed in scar tissue. But now, scientists at the Gladstone Institutes have demonstrated that this damage ...

How hormones and microbes drive the gender bias in autoimmune diseases

2013-08-22

Females can mount more powerful immune responses than males, but the flip side of this enhanced protection against infections is a greater risk for autoimmune disorders. Shedding light on the underlying causes of the gender bias in autoimmune diseases, a study published by Cell Press August 22nd in the journal Immunity reveals that certain gut microbes prevalent in males can help protect them against type 1 diabetes. The study demonstrates that these microbes cooperate with sex hormones to cause this gender bias and provides an important framework that could lead to better ...

Wolves howl because they care

2013-08-22

When a member of the wolf pack leaves the group, the howling by those left behind isn't a reflection of stress but of the quality of their relationships. So say researchers based on a study of nine wolves from two packs living at Austria's Wolf Science Center that appears in Current Biology, a Cell Press publication, on August 22. The findings shed important light on the degree to which animal vocal production can be considered as voluntary, the researchers say. "Our results suggest the social relationship can explain more of the variation we see in howling behavior ...

New technique may help regenerate heart cells to treat heart disease

2013-08-22

Researchers have developed a new technique that might one day be used to convert cells from heart disease patients into heart muscle cells that could act as a personalized treatment for their condition. The research is published online on August 22 in the journal of the International Society of Stem Cell Research, Stem Cell Reports, published by Cell Press. The investigators previously reported the ability to convert scar-forming cells in the heart (called fibroblasts) into new, beating muscle in mice that had experienced heart attacks, thereby regenerating a heart from ...

Study helps explain increased melanoma risk in individuals with red hair

2013-08-22

BOSTON -- A person's skin pigment, which determines hair color and skin tone, is influenced by the melanocortin-1 (MC1R) gene receptor. For the population's one to two percent of redheads, a mutation in MC1R accounts for their red hair color and typical light skin. Now researchers from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) and Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have discovered that the same MC1R mutation responsible for the red hair phenotype also promotes an important cancer-causing pathway. The new findings, reported on-line today in the journal Molecular ...

Human brains are hardwired for empathy, friendship, study shows

2013-08-22

Perhaps one of the most defining features of humanity is our capacity for empathy – the ability to put ourselves in others' shoes. A new University of Virginia study strongly suggests that we are hardwired to empathize because we closely associate people who are close to us – friends, spouses, lovers – with our very selves. "With familiarity, other people become part of ourselves," said James Coan, a psychology professor in U.Va.'s College of Arts & Sciences who used functional magnetic resonance imaging brain scans to find that people closely correlate people to whom ...

23andMe conducts the first genetic study of non-syndromic striae distensae (stretch marks)

2013-08-22

Mountain View, Calif. –August 22nd, 2013 23andMe, the leading personal genetics company, has conducted the first genetic study of striae distensae (stretch marks). Researchers at the company identified four genetic markers significantly associated with the development of stretch marks that inform why some individuals are more susceptible to the skin condition. Estimates of the prevalence of stretch marks range from 50-80 percent, however the exact causes of stretch marks are still widely unknown. Many factors, including excessive skin distension (during pregnancy, ...

Beetles modify emissions of greenhouse gases from cow pats

2013-08-22

Cattle contribute to global warming by burping and farting large amounts of greenhouse gases. Some of the same gases are also emitted from cow pats on pastures. But now researchers from the University of Helsinki have found that beetles living in cow pats may reduce emissions of the key greenhouse gas - methane. Agriculture is one of the biggest sources of the anthropogenic greenhouse gases responsible for global warming. Among these, cattle farming for meat and milk are major sources of methane, a gas with a potent warming effect. Much of this methane comes from the ...

Menarini Group and Insilico Medicine enter a second exclusive global license agreement for an AI discovered preclinical asset targeting high unmet needs in oncology

Single injection may revolutionize melanoma treatment, Moffitt study shows

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES: