Non-toxic nanotherapy for cancer created

Boston -- U.S. scientists say they've used nanotechnology to transform an old drug derived from mold into a potential non-toxic therapy for a wide range of cancers.

Children's Hospital Boston researchers said the first oral, broad-spectrum angiogenesis inhibitor they created shows promising anti-cancer results in mice.

Since it's a non-toxic oral medication, the scientists say the drug -- called Lodamin -- might be useful as a preventive therapy for patients at high risk for cancer or as a chronic maintenance therapy for a variety of cancers, preventing tumors from forming or recurring by blocking the growth of blood vessels to feed them.

Lodamin may also be useful in other diseases that involve aberrant blood-vessel growth, such as age-related macular degeneration and arthritis, they said.

Developed by Ofra Benny and the late Dr. Judah Folkman, Lodamin is a slow-release reformulation of TNP-470, a drug developed nearly two decades ago by Dr. Donald Ingber. It was one of the first angiogenesis inhibitors to undergo clinical testing.

The scientists said Lodamin appears to retain TNP-470's potency and broad spectrum of activity, but with no detectable neurotoxicity and greatly enhanced oral availability.

The research is reported online in the journal Nature Biotechnology.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International.