Reference #: 00088
The University of South Carolina is offering licensing opportunities for a new method to treat prostate cancer via inhibition of prostatic acid phosphatase.
Invention Description:
The subject invention is able to detect and specifically inhibit prostatic acid phosphatase (PAP), a major protein secreted by the prostate gland. PAP is produced in large quantities by metastatic (specifically, cancerous) prostate cells. PAP has been shown in vitro to inhibit natural killer (NK) cells, one of the body's internal defense mechanisms against cancer. The inhibition of PAP prevents the inactivation of NK cells and allows the patient's immune responses to return to normal.
Advantages and Benefits:
Advantages of this invention include the sensitivity and specificity of this technique in the diagnosis of colon cancer. Both of which are more accurate than currently used techniques. Another advantage is that this invention would allow a physician to initiate treatment at the earliest stage possible, thus potentially improving the patient’s prognosis.
Development/Validation:
Testing has shown that this method provides a relatively simple laboratory experiment, which produces diffracting crystals from a biphasic mixture of components, which when used by themselves, are not effective.
Development:
Crystals have been obtained and the native data set has been collected.
Potential Applications:
· Diagnosis of prostate cancer
· Treatment of metastatic prostate cancer