Aethlon Medical Expands Device Pipeline To Include The Treatment Of Cancer
San Diego - Aethlon Medical, Inc., a pioneer in developing therapeutic devices for infectious disease, announced that it will expand the applications of its Hemopurifier technology to include the treatment of Cancer. Related to this announcement, Aethlon disclosed that it has executed an option with the Trustees of Boston University that allows Aethlon the right to exclusively license a recently filed patent entitled: "Method to Prevent Proliferation and Growth of Metastases."
Cancer Treatment Strategy
Aethlon Medical plans to combine the core principles of its Hemopurifier platform technology with intellectual property developed by researchers at Boston University as a means to help prevent the spread of cancer following surgery. When cancer has spread from a primary site to other sites in the body (metastasized) then surgical removal of the tumor from the primary site is associated with the rapid growth of existing metastases and often the appearance of new ones. When a patient is evaluated and metastases are found, removal of the primary tumor is often no longer considered a viable course of treatment.
Studies have shown that surgery causes a highly significant elevation of circulating growth factors and related agents associated with the wound healing process. The agents of interest, such as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), promote the growth of new blood vessels (angiogenesis), which provide nutrition and oxygen to the cancerous cells, allowing them to multiply and the tumors to grow. The use of inhibitors of VEGF and other growth factors has proved effective in controlling the growth and spread of many types of cancer; however, using these agents following surgery would interfere with the healing process.
The post-surgery deployment of the Hemopurifier with immobilized growth factor affinity agents offers the potential to control the levels of growth factors in circulation during this critical period while not significantly affecting local levels near the surgical wound. The treatment goal will be to block the surge in circulating growth factors, which occurs over a few days following surgery, without negatively affecting wound healing. Patients would then be able to return to the use of antiangiogenic drugs or other cancer therapies.
If successful, the Hemopurifier to treat cancer will make it possible to provide surgical interventions in cases where surgery is not presently considered, and will add a significant margin of safety in cases where surgery is considered a viable treatment option.
SOURCE: Aethlon Medical