Life supporting hormone may advance growth of cancer.

Cancer Biotechnology Weekly, Oct 30, 1995 p10(2).

Subjects: Cancer - Endocrine aspects
Chorionic gonadotropin - Therapeutic use


A hormone found int the cells of the placenta, which helps sustain
pregnancy by protecting an embryo from it's mother's immune system, may
also be the biological common denominator among cancers that has eluded
scientists for decades, according to a study in the October 1995 issue of
the Journal of Cancer.

Human chorionic gondadotropin (hCG), a hormone expressed by all malignant
tumors, shields cancerous cells from the immune system's attack, rendering
the body defenseless against the advancement of cancer, said Hernan
Acevedo, Ph.D., a scientist at the Allegheny-Singer Research Institute
(ASRI), Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and professor of pathology at the
Medical College of Pennsylvania and Hahnemann University, Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania.

According to William Regelson, M.D., professor of medicine at the Medical
College of Virginia Hospitals - Virginia Commonwealth University,
Richmond, the presence of hCG in cancer cells cannot be ignored.

"Based on the work of Acevedo and his associates, we must continue to ask
why human reproduction and cancer are paradoxically inseperable...there is
ample evidence that part of hCG's role in cancer is the same as that in
the fetoplacental unit, that is, to make a cell immunologically inert,"
Regelson states in an editorial accompanying Acevedo's Cancer article.

"We cannot seperate the process of life from the process of death," said
Acevedo.  The 70-year-old researcher, who has spent the past 20 years
studying hCG, reports finding the hormone in the cells of every type of
cancer he and his colleges examined.

If Acevedo's findings are confirmed by further research, hCG could be the
common cancer "biomarker" for which scientists have been searching.

"The identification of a biomarker would have tremendous potential," said
James H. McMaster, M.D., ASRI president and CEO.  "Not ony would it enable
us to locate tumors, it would enable us to 'target' the infected area,
which we then could treat with an hCG antibody."

The hCG antibody is one of a small group of antibodies that are cytotoxic,
which means they do not use the immune system to attack.  If the
antibodies could be focused on a specific site, they would not induce many
of the side effects that often accompany other cancer treatments, McMaster
said.

"We cannot cure cancer, but we may be able to control it," Acevedo said.
He explained that if his findings are borne out by other researchers, the
hCG antibody could be used to control metastasis - the spread of the
disease that occurs in a way similar to the growth of an embryo in the
uterus of its mother.

Although Acevedo has not yet tested his findings on humans, he has used
animal models to demonstrate the effectiveness of direct hCG antibody
administration as a cancer treatment.

In addition to Acevedo's basic research, early efforts have been made to
use the hCG biomarker as a target for therapy.  Using 30 years of
contraceptive vaccine development as a basis, in 1993 and 1994, physicians
at Ohio State University tested an anti-hCG vaccine on 23 patients with
different types of advanced cancers.

As a result of the findings, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
in late 1994 approved a clinical trial of the vaccine in a small group of
patients at the Medical College of Pennsylvania and Hahnemann University
in Philadelphia.  But, before the trials can proceed, $3.5 million is
needed to pay for the study, according to Jeff Lillard, president of
Immunotherapy Corp., a California-based company that has licensed Ohio
State's vaccine for cancer therapy.

Even if there is funding for the trials, more money will be needed before
the vaccine can be made available for general use, said Acevedo,
explaining that it takes between $30 and $40 million to take a product to
market.

"This is a step-by-step process," Acevedo said.

COPYRIGHT Charles Henderson, Publisher 1995

AN: 17544842