OPPORTUNITY

Prostate cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer in men and is an extremely heterogeneous disease, indicating that multiple genes can cause or contribute to the condition. In 2018, it is estimated that 164,690 people will be diagnosed and about 29,430 people will die of prostate cancer. About 1 man in 9 will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during his lifetime. Myb is a transcription factor known to regulate the expression of several genes that play crucial roles in cell proliferation, differentiation, and survival. Moreover, c-Myb is an oncogene, which suggests that it has the potential to transform a cell into a tumor. Likewise, c-Myb expression is associated with chemoresistance such that increased expression positively correlates with greater resistance to certain chemotherapeutic drugs and greater cell viability in experiments performed in prostate cancer cell lines. Significant value would be added to the patient if this tumor-creating gene expression could be inhibited through RNA therapeutics.

BREAKTHROUGH IN CANCER THERAPY

Inventors at the University of South Alabama have identified relevant functions of Myb in prostate cancer, in that, c-Myb inhibition decreases prostate cancer cell line growth rate by 38%. Additionally, inhibition of c-Myb decreases clonogenecity, the ability of a cell to grow into a colony, by 2.4 fold. Malignant behavior such as motility and invasiveness were also decreased by inhibition of c-Myb. Further experiments demonstrate that modulation of c-Myb results in changes in expression of c-Myc and CXCR4, genes previously implicated in prostate carcinogenesis. Based on experiments utilizing established cell lines, inventors have demonstrated a linear relationship between levels of c-Myb and prostate specific antigen (PSA), the current standard for monitoring prostate cancer progression. In vivo xenograph studies show that inhibiting c-Myb dramatically reduces tumor volume and increases percent and median mouse survival.  This RNA therapeutic to inhibit c-Myb expression has the potential to improve quality of life for patients.

COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES

•  Targeted treatment based on c-Myb expression

•  Increased quality of life for patients

•  Diagnostic marker of prostate cancer

•  Reduced number of false positive results

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY STATUS

Patent Issued

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