A research group headed by James Morre, professor of medicinal chemistry at Purdue University, obtained results supporting that Phenoxodiol specifically targets a protein on prostate cancer cells known as tNOX 75 alpha. Prostate cancer is one of the most serious and common types of cancer found in American men, killing more than 30,000 men in the US every year.
The Purdue team has identified the protein, tumor-associated NADH oxidase (or tNOX), as a pan-cancer marker. The protein is critical to the ability of the tumor cell to grow and to survive. They also have shown that there are different forms of this protein, known as isoforms, and that different tNOX isoforms are associated with different forms of cancer.
“The study demonstrates a clear association between tNOX 75 alpha levels, prostate cancer, and response to phenoxodiol therapy,” said Graham Kelly chairman of Marshall Edwards.
Phenoxodiol is being developed as a therapy for late-stage, chemo- resistant prostate, ovarian and cervical cancers and is currently is undergoing clinical studies in the US and Australia.