AD-MDA7 PLUS HERCEPTIN AGAINST BREAST CANCER

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Introgen Therapeutics and University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (UTMDACC) are collaborating to develop a novel gene therapy approach using the combination of Ad-mda7 and Herceptin for an important clinical disease, breast cancer. The collaboration will have three aims. The first aim will be addressed towards proving that Ad-mda7 plus Herceptin combination is very potent in killing breast cancer cells and do exhibit synergy. The second aim will be focussed on deducing the underlying mechanism/s used by Ad-mda7/Herceptin/ Ad-mda7 plus Herceptin to induce rapid apoptosis and eventual breast cancer cell killing. The third aim will be an extension of the previous two aims, which will test the combination in in vivo animal models. This is an important study and will further determine if this strategy can be applied in clinical trials against breast cancer patients. PROPOSED COMMERCIAL APPLICATION: We propose to evaluate the effect of Ad-mda7 as an anti-tumor agent in combination with Herceptin (Trastumuzab), a humanized anti-Her2 antibody against Her2+ and Her2- breast cancer cell lines in vitro and in vivo. This strategy, if successful, could be further applied in human breast cancer trials.