This work investigates X-PACT (X-ray Psoralen Activated Cancer Therapy): a new approach for the treatment of solid cancer. X-PACT utilizes psoralen, a potent anti-cancer therapeutic with current application to proliferative disease and extracorporeal photopheresis (ECP) of cutaneous T Cell Lymphoma. An immunogenic role for light-activated psoralen has been reported, contributing to long-term clinical responses.

Eliza, a 13-year old Labrador retriever from Charlotte, is a four-legged miracle. Almost a year and a half ago, her cancer was essentially cured during a clinical trial at N.C. State University’s vet school. Now Eliza and other canine patients might teach researchers something about cancer in their two-legged friends. The Duke Cancer Institute and NCSU’s College of Veterinary Medicine have formed the Consortium for Canine Comparative Oncology, or C3O for short.

Co-hosts Joni Aldrich and Dr. Peter Hofland interview Harold Walder, President of Immunolight, on the groundbreaking cancer research and treatment that he and a team of scientists at Duke University Medical Center have been conducting over the past seven years.

Durham, NC – Immunolight LLC, an emerging leader in the development of a breakthrough platform technology leveraging the latest advances in energy transfer, has announced research about a new mode of action utilizing psoralen, a naturally occurring compound found in broccoli and figs, that may shed new light on the fight against cancer.

Photo-activation of psoralen with UVA irradiation, referred to as PUVA, is used in the treatment of proliferative skin disorders. The anti-proliferative effects of PUVA have been largely attributed to psoralen intercalation of DNA, which upon UV treatment, triggers the formation of interstrand DNA crosslinks (ICL) that inhibit transcription and DNA replication. Here, we show that PUVA exerts antitumor effects in models of human breast cancer that overexpress the ErbB2 receptor tyrosine kinase oncogene, through a new mechanism.

Adhesives and coatings cured by ultraviolet (UV) or visible light have become valuable tools in modern-day assembly operations, particularly in high-technology industries such as electronics and medical devices. Most UV adhesives are based on free radical polymerization systems with acrylate or methacrylate monomers, although other systems such as cationically cured cycloaliphatic epoxies, vinyl ethers, and oxetanes are known.

We report development of a nanoparticle-based, X-ray-activated anticancer “nanodrug” composed of yttrium oxide (Y2O3) nanoscintillators, a fragment of the HIV-1 TAT peptide, and psoralen. In this formulation, X-ray radiation is absorbed by the Y2O3 nanoscintillators, which then emit UVA light. Absorption of UVA photons by nanoparticle-tethered psoralen has the potential to cross-link adenine and thymine residues in DNA. UVA-induced cross-linking by free psoralen upon activation with UVA light has previously been shown to cause apoptosis in vitro and an immunogenic response in vivo.