Human cancers contain genetic mutations that are unique to each patient. Some of the mutated peptides are immunogenic, can be recognized by T cells, and therefore, may serve as therapeutic targets.
Chronic leg ulcers are a debilitating vasculopathic complication for some patients with sickle cell disease (SCD). Prevalence of leg ulcers varies based on age and geographic location; about 5-10% of all SCD patients may suffer leg ulcers. These leg ulcers are painful, result in infections, hospitalization, disability, and negatively impact the patient’s social and psychological wellbeing on an ongoing basis.
The tumor protein p53 is a cell cycle regulator. It responds to DNA damage by triggering the DNA repair pathway and allowing cell division to occur or inducing cell growth arrest, cellular senescence, and/or apoptosis. p53 therefore acts as a tumor suppressor by preventing uncontrolled cell division. However, mutations in p53 that impair its cell cycle regulatory functions can induce uncontrolled cell division leading to cancer.
This invention is a potential subcutaneous or intramuscular progestin-only, injectable contraceptive for women. Forty-five percent (45%) of pregnancies in the United States are unintended. In this group, one-third of reproductive age women are obese – increasing the risk of diabetes, hypertension and venous thromboembolism (VTE). All these are conditions for which most hormonal methods are contraindicated. Thus, additional safe and effective injectable contraceptive options are needed.
Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a group of human viruses known to cause various malignancies. Of the group, HPV-16 is the most prevalent strain – an estimated 90% of adults have been exposed. HPV-16 is also the strain most commonly associated with malignancy, causing the vast majority of cervical, anal, vaginal, vulvar, and penile cancers. Currently, HPV-positive malignancies non-responsive to surgery or radiation are incurable and poorly palliated by existing systemic therapies. Thus, an alternative therapeutic approach for HPV-positive malignancies is needed.
The development of an effective HIV vaccine has been an ongoing area of research. High variability in HIV-1 virus strains, however, represents a major challenge. Ideally, an effective candidate vaccine would provide protection against the majority of clades of HIV. Two major hurdles to overcome are immunodominance and sequence diversity. Researchers at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) have developed a vaccine that overcomes these major hurdles by utilizing a strategy that identifies conserved regions of the virus and exploits them for use in a targeted therapy.
In medical diagnostic procedures for examining the cervix and the tissues of the vagina and vulva, long working-distance (-30 cm) lighted binocular microscopes (colposcope) that provide up to 25x optical magnification are used to create an illuminated magnified view. Speculum dilations can give rise to specular reflections from the tissue surface, causing physicians to overlook possible abnormalities – thus decreasing the quality of a colposcopy.
Researchers at the National Cancer Institute’s Biopharmaceutical Development Program recently developed massively parallel sequencing methods for virus-derived therapeutics such as viral vaccines and oncolytic immunotherapies.
This technology includes anti-PSMA antibody labeled with 177Lu, which has shown to be an effective treatment for prostate cancer. Several small molecules targeting PSMA were also evaluated in prostate cancer patients labeled with betta emitters such as 177Lu. The most common one is 177Lu-PSMA-617 which is under clinical evaluation in many countries. Usual treatment in patients in most clinical trials was composed of up to 3 cycles of 177Lu-PSMA-617.
