[news 2011-2012]

Queen’s researchers uncover mechanism that enables cancer cells to evade attack by immune system; PARTEQ startup developing related products 

For immediate release

December 14, 2011

KINGSTON, ON -- Researchers at Queen’s University have identified a new mechanism that could potentially explain why the body’s immune system sometimes fails to eliminate cancer. The new findings shed light on the possible cause of immune resistance in cancer cells, and indicate that nitroglycerin, a drug used for more than a century to treat angina, may be effective for managing certain cancers.

The research team, led by Dr. Charles Graham of the Department of Biomedical and Molecular Sciences and Dr. Robert Siemens of the Department of Urology, looked at the role that hypoxia, or low oxygen content in tissues, plays in the ability of some cancer cells to escape detection, and subsequent destruction, by the body’s immune system.

They discovered that hypoxia in a cancer cell is linked to the overproduction of a key enzyme, ADAM10, which makes the cell resistant to attack by immune cells. However, the researchers found that when cells were treated with a nitric oxide mimicking agent such as nitroglycerin, hypoxic conditions were overcome and the cells lost their resistance to immune attack. 

The researchers also tested their hypothesis on tumor-bearing mice, where they found that tumour growth was slowed when treated with nitroglycerin.  

Their results, published online and in an upcoming issue of the American Association of Cancer Research peer-reviewed journal Cancer Research, indicate that a nitric oxide mimicking agent such as nitroglycerin could potentially be used to boost the body’s natural immune response to cancer. The research leading to these findings is funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Terry Fox Foundation Training Program in Transdisciplinary Cancer Research in partnership with CIHR.

The discovery builds on the Queen’s researchers’ 2009 research findings into the role of nitric oxide in suppressing tumour growth in prostate cancer. The researchers conducted the first-ever clinical trial using low doses of nitroglycerin to treat prostate cancer.

More than 10 patents have been issued to Queen’s research discoveries in the use of nitroglycerin and similar compounds for the treatment of cancer. PARTEQ Innovations, the technology transfer office of Queen’s, has licensed some of this intellectual property to Nometics Inc., a Queen’s spinoff company, which is developing products and therapies based on this and related research. 

“Finding new potential treatments for cancer is a priority research area in Ontario,” says John Molloy, President and CEO of PARTEQ. “Hopefully this discovery will continue through trials and become a low-cost drug in the arsenal against a number of diseases.”

“We are very pleased to see these results, as they provide a mechanistic explanation of earlier clinical findings,” says Robert Bender, CEO of Nometics. “Nitroglycerin has an outstanding safety profile and is basically a low-cost drug; we look forward to getting further clinical data and hope to see a new type of therapy enter practice based on this work.  A low-cost, low-intensity treatment that leverages the body’s immune response has great potential, and we are very pleased with the progress made by our academic collaborators.”

“With additional clinical evidence this could be an important addition to our weapons in the war against cancer,” says Frank Jones, President of Acme Transdermal, LLC. “We are excited by the potential of this work.” 

About PARTEQ Innovations

PARTEQ Innovations is the not-for-profit technology transfer office founded by Queen’s University, and is a partner in the Rideau Commercialization Network. PARTEQ works with institutional researchers and the business and venture capital communities to bring early stage technologies to market. Since 1987 PARTEQ has been instrumental in the establishment of more than 40 companies developing a variety of products, from potential drugs for Alzheimer’s, cancer and heart disease to automated bacteria detection for water systems, solar-powered appliances, and advanced materials used in the plastics, automotive, aerospace and household appliance industries.

About Nometics

Nometics Inc. is a privately owned specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the treatment of cancer through the restoration of the nitric oxide signalling pathway. Using clinically established and approved nitric oxide (NO) donors, the company’s founding researchers have demonstrated in both pre-clinical and clinical trials that tumour growth can be slowed in prostate cancer.

Contact:

John Molloy

President & CEO

PARTEQ Innovations

P: 613. 533. 2342

E: jmolloy@parteqinnovations.com