Therapeutic Methods Based on Characterized BRCA1 and BRCA2 Proteins

Introduction Over a lifetime, it is estimated that women who have mutations in the BRCA1 gene or BRCA2 gene have up to a 55% and 25% risk of developing ovarian cancer, respectively. These rates are significantly higher than the 1.8% of women who are diagnosed with ovarian cancer without any inherited BRCA abnormalities. Men with abnormal BRCA1 or BRCA2 are up to 7 times more likely to develop prostate cancer. In the United States alone, approximately 30,000 women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer and 234,460 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer annually. Only 50% of women diagnosed with ovarian cancer will survive the disease and an estimated 27,350 deaths are due to prostate cancer. Despite being the most common cause of death from gynecological tumors, there is still a considerable need for further research and development on ovarian cancer. As there is a clear link to increased risk of ovarian and prostate cancer due to the presence of mutations in the BRCA1 and/or BRCA2 genes, the ability to regain tumor suppression function of these genes would be a powerful therapeutic tool. Efficacious therapy of each of these cancers is still clearly necessary for successful treatment of disease. Technology description The present invention relates to the methods to reduce and suppress the growth of epithelial ovarian tumors and reduce the growth of prostate tumors using a retroviral construct comprising the appropriate BRCA nucleic acid. Business opportunity There are several therapeutics available to manage ovarian cancer at different stages, however, there is not one that has shown a significant clinical advantage over another. 25% of men who are treated for prostate cancer relapse, and prognosis for these patients is unclear. In both these cancer types, early prognosis and treatment are important factors to survival. Surgical removal of the tumors are central to manage the disease, however, surgery may not be appropriate or effective for all patients. Thus, chemotherapy is still an important component of treatment. Gene therapy will be a powerful tool for the treatment of various cancers. Further, it is expected that new therapeutics will be more cancer and patient specific, resulting in fewer adverse effects and decrease in cancer progression. Intellectual property position

Patents:
US 6,177,410

Type of Offer: Licensing



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