Description of Invention:
Ovarian cancer is the fifth leading cause of cancer death for women in the United States. Drug resistance of ovarian tumors to chemotherapy is a common problem resulting in only 20 to 30 percent overall 5-year survival rates.
Folate is a vitamin that is required for cell survival. Some cancer cells, including ovarian carcinomas, have an abundance of a folate-binding protein termed the human alpha folate receptor (ahFR). It is believed that elevated levels of ahFR in cancer, relative to normal cells, contribute to the cellular malignant phenotype by mediating increased folate uptake or by generating positive regulatory growth signals.
This invention comprises a DNA-based therapy that selectively targets and diminishes the levels of ahFR using antisense oligonucleotides that block the transcription of the ahFR gene. Studies have shown that this invention significantly decreases proliferation of cultured cancer cells and sensitizes these cells to treatment with chemotherapeutic drugs. Further development of ahFR-targeted antisense oligonucleotides and related compounds has potential therapeutic value for a range of cancers that express increased levels of ahFR, including cancers of the ovary, cervix, uterus, and brain.
Inventors:
Mona S. Jhaveri (NCI) Patrick C. Elwood (NCI) Koong-Nah Chung (NCI)
Patent Status:
DHHS Reference No. E-321-2000/0 --
U.S. Patent Application No. 10/093,523 filed 11 Mar 2002, U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. US 2003/0050267 A1
Portfolios: Cancer
Cancer -Therapeutics-Gene Therapy Cancer -Therapeutics-Conventional Chemotherapy Cancer -Therapeutics
For Additional Information Please Contact: Surekha Vathyam Ph.D.
Office of Technology Transfer
6011 Executive Blvd, Suite 325
Rockville, MD 20852-3804
Phone: 301/435-4076
Email: vathyams@mail.nih.gov
Fax: 301/402-0220
