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According to Introgen Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: INGN)’s preclinical data on the NPRL2 tumor suppressor gene, systemic treatment using NPRL2 nanoparticles in combination with cisplatin resulted in a 90% tumor growth inhibition in human lung cancer cells compared to control treatments.

The NPRL2 gene, believed to be important in the genesis of multiple types of cancer, including lung cancer and renal cell cancer, is licensed to Introgen from The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.

The said preclinical study indicated that low expression of the NPRL2 gene may predict resistance to response to cisplatin chemotherapy in patients with lung cancer.

Cisplatin one of the mainstays of chemotherapy for lung cancer, so that resistance is cisplatin is bad news. Thus the good news in this study is that: in lung cancers that were resistant to cisplatin, re- introduction of the normal NPRL2 gene resulted in dramatic re-sensitization to cisplatin.

Find more data from the press release.

[Photo Credit: Bedford Labs]