Chilean Research On A New Treatment Against Cancer

June 17, 2009 - PRLog -- Chilean research on a new treatment against cancer is published in one of the most prestigious scientific magazines of the world

A research team of the University of Chile formed by Dr. Flavio Salazar, Dr. Mercedes Lopez and Dr. Carlos Ferrada, has published their last scientific work in one of the most prestigious magazines of oncology: "The Journal of Clinical Oncology” includes in this year’s 6th edition, a clinical study performed in Chile, with 50 patients suffering from stage III and IV advanced melanoma.

Melanoma is an aggressive skin cancer, incurable in advanced states. In this scientific publication, Dr. Salazar’s team demonstrates that 60 % of the patients treated with this new immunological therapy, called TAPCells, develop and immunological response against the tumor that increase the patients survival up to four times compared to historical expectations. In stage III cancer patients, witch had their lymph nodes removed surgically prior to the application of the immunotherapy; the efficiency was up to 100 % overcoming this mortal disease.

Melanoma, a cancer with alarming numbers

Melanoma is considered the most mortal skin cancer. According to statistics from World Health Organizations, in the world, 48.000 persons die and 160.000 new cases are reported every year, with an increase of the prevalence in more than 4 % per year. This situation due to many factors, for example extended longevity of population along modern lifestyles: people expose themselves more intense and excessively to sunbeams during their free time.

Currently there is no effective treatment for advanced melanoma, therefore the results achieved with the immunotherapy TAPCells open new opportunities for those who suffer this disease. In Chile it is possible to obtain access to the therapy through the company Oncobiomed which is part of a consortium with the University of Chile, to patent and commercialize this technology.

The consortium final aim is to globally validate TAPCells technology, by incorporating international investors who will allow financing additional clinical studies in countries as Australia and USA, besides assuring the intellectual world protection.

TAPCells Technology

Cancer patient’s immune system does not spontaneously recognize tumour cells and therefore does not attack them, allowing their uncontrolled spread. Dendritic cells have an essential role in the immune response activation; they give the alert when an infection or a tumor invades us. The problem lies in, that these dendritic cells are sometimes unable to recognize the tumor as they get tolerant to it’s presence, and therefore do not alert the rest of the organism.

To bypass these problems, the therapy consists in producing dendritic cells, with antitumor capacity, from white blood cells obtained from the patient’s own blood, through a patented procedure. These so called TAPCells are then injected back into the patients to attack their disease, without adverse side effects.

Scientific passion and biomedicine

For the doctors Flavio Salazar, Mercedes Lopez and Carlos Ferrada, who direct this multidisciplinary group, the development of an effective immunotherapy and the publishing of their results in The Journal of Clinical Oncology, is one of the most important achievements of their careers, both professional and personal. They have applied rigor, perseverance and passion for science, and they have brought relief to a significant group of patients. "These patients did no have any other effective possibility of treatment for their illness, but with our therapy they can shelter hopes.” says Dr. López.

Dr. Salazar adds "Manipulating the patient’s immune system in order to attack his cancer brings us closer to 21st century personalized medicine, in this case as a biological therapy without side effects and without toxic elements that deteriorate the patients’ quality of life. Our hope and efforts are set in these technologies, where the patient is the start point for the design of individual and specific therapies for every type of illness ".

Global future and local therapy

Cancer is an illness that does not distinguish frontiers, social classes or ethnic groups. More than a disease, it is a social phenomenon that affects first the patient’s quality of life and the one of their family.  For this reason, large resources are destined to find a cure. Last decades advances, demonstrate that it is possible to drastically reduce its mortality by early diagnosis and treatment ".

About future plans, Dr. Salazar concludes: “to be able to globalize and improve TAPCells technology, more research is needed, more clinical testing, but also we need investors ready to venture on global development of a therapy with high scientific sustenance ". On the other hand, he adds; "we want the doctors to look through our scientific publications and seriously evaluate the relevance of our therapy in patients with advanced melanoma and if in spite the evidence they still have doubts, contact with us to discuss scientifically the better clinical alternatives ".

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Oncobiomed is a Chilean biotechnology company oriented towards commercializing, licensing and transferring the technology developed by a group of scientists from the University of Chile that research in the area of cancer therapy based on immunological approaches.