Development of a First-in-Class Therapeutic to Treat Epithelial Ovarian Cancer
Abstract
The American Cancer Society estimates that, in the U.S. in 2021, about 21,410 women will receive a new diagnosis of ovarian cancer (OC) and about 13,770 women will die from OC. Currently, there is no recommended screening test for OC, and the understanding of OC is still limited, making OC difficult to treat. Primary treatment includes surgery and chemotherapy. Surgery usually involves removal of ovaries, fallopian tubes, the womb (including the cervix), and parts of the bowel if the cancer has spread. Chemotherapy, on the other hand, has high toxicity and highly varied response, with only 17.7% of patients responding effectively. The 5-year relative survival rate for ovarian cancer is currently less than 50%, and the recurrence rate is >80%. MicroQuin has developed therapeutics focusing on novel, untouched, targets and a unique mechanism to treat all kinds of OC effectively and safely. Our preliminary data show that these therapeutics can kill OC cells and reduce tumor size in animal models with no observable or measurable toxicity. We believe that, with the proposed modifications to our current therapeutics, we can significantly improve their efficacy and further reduce side effects, increasing the chance of completing human clinical trials and reaching the patients. Due to the high efficacy and low side effects, our modified therapeutics can redefine the OC standard of care and provide OC patients an additional treatment option with significantly superior outcome while minimizing or negating the need for surgical intervention and chemotherapy as the primary course of action. We believe, at a minimum, our modified therapeutics would be used in combination with chemotherapy to reduce the number of treatment cycles required, improve 5-year survival rates, and significantly reduce overall therapeutic side effects. Moreover, the data from the project would advance the world’s understanding of OC, opening doors for more discoveries in treating OC and other types of cancers.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Dec 28, 2022
- Source ID
- W81XWH2210472
Entities
People
- Keith Robinson
Organizations
- United States Army