Prognostic tools to predict the efficacy of drug treatment targeting chromatin DNA or enzymes acting on DNA
Patent Number: US8367340
Executive Summary:
General Description:
The majority of chemotherapeutic regimens involve the use of a drug that targets DNA or an enzyme that acts on DNA. Sometimes patients may receive treatment to which they are not responsive. Invention US8367340 details a kit and method for assessing the effectiveness of anticancer drugs that induce DNA damage against a patient’s cancer cells. It provides a means of tailoring treatment to an individual and selecting the most effective single or combination therapy. Contained within the kit are oligonucleotides against the c-myc locus (an oncogene). PCR-stop assays and real-time PCR are used to measure amplification of this region. DNA breakage within this locus, induced by the therapeutic agent, impairs amplification resulting in less amplified product being detected by real-time PCR. By taking advantage of the inversely proportional relationship between incidence of DNA breaks and amount of amplified product, the effectiveness of therapeutic agents against cancer cells can be quantified.
Strengths:
Weaknesses:
Patent Status:
Inventor Bio: France Carrier
http://www.medschool.umaryland.edu/profiles/Carrier-France/
Executive Summary:
- Invention Type: Prognostic
- Patent Status: Issued on 2013-02-05
- Patent Link: https://patents.google.com/patent/US8367340/
- Research Institute: University of Maryland - Baltimore
- Disease Focus: All forms of cancer treated with DNA targeting agents
- Basis of Invention: A novel prognostic test that uses a PCR based assay to screen patients’ cancer cells against an array of therapeutic agents to identify the most effective therapy. Can provide a prediction for the effectiveness of combination therapy vs single drug treatment.
- How it works: Numerous anticancer agents work by inducing DNA breaks in cancerous cells. The effectiveness of a compound can be determined by measuring the number of DNA breaks in cells following treatment. A PCR-stop assay can be performed using the cells and the amplified product measured using real-time PCR. The level of amplified product is inversely proportional to the incidence of DNA breaks within the targeted region
- Lead Challenge Inventor: France Carrier
- Inventors: France Carrier and Narasimharoa Nalabothula
- Development Stage: Preclinical with limited patient data
- Novelty:
- A simple prognostic test that enables selection of the most effective therapeutic agent
- Clinical Applications:
- Prognostic tool for determining the most effective treatment plan
General Description:
The majority of chemotherapeutic regimens involve the use of a drug that targets DNA or an enzyme that acts on DNA. Sometimes patients may receive treatment to which they are not responsive. Invention US8367340 details a kit and method for assessing the effectiveness of anticancer drugs that induce DNA damage against a patient’s cancer cells. It provides a means of tailoring treatment to an individual and selecting the most effective single or combination therapy. Contained within the kit are oligonucleotides against the c-myc locus (an oncogene). PCR-stop assays and real-time PCR are used to measure amplification of this region. DNA breakage within this locus, induced by the therapeutic agent, impairs amplification resulting in less amplified product being detected by real-time PCR. By taking advantage of the inversely proportional relationship between incidence of DNA breaks and amount of amplified product, the effectiveness of therapeutic agents against cancer cells can be quantified.
Strengths:
- Simple method to tailor treatment
- May prevent exposure to ineffective treatments
Weaknesses:
- Relies on drug inducing DNA breaks
Patent Status:
- Priority date: 2008-12-03
- Filing date: 2009-12-03
- Publication date: 2013-02-05
- Grant date: 2013-02-05
Inventor Bio: France Carrier
http://www.medschool.umaryland.edu/profiles/Carrier-France/
