Ascites can be defined as the fluid buildup in the abdominal cavity. It occurs in patients suffering with certain diseases. When it is caused by cancer, it is named as malignant ascites. It is normally seen in people suffering with uterine, pancreatic, ovarian, liver, colon and breast cancers. The research being done by TD2 and funded by Pharmacyte Biotech Inc (OTCMKTS:PMCB) focused on developing specialized treatments for diabetes and cancer using its proprietary live-cell encapsulation technology popularly known as Cell-in-a-Box®.
The details
The study is designed to know whether Pharmacyte’s pancreatic cancer treatment can slow down the accumulation of malignant ascites fluid or not. The treatment is a combination of low dosage of the ifosfamide given together with Cell-in-a-Box® capsules. It is said to convert ifosfamide into cancer-killing form. In a preliminary study, mice were infected with aggressive form human ovarian cancer, which produces large quantity of malignant ascites fluid. The infected mice were divided into four groups. Each group had ten mice.
The dosage
The first group of mice was termed as a control group. The second group included mice that were treated with PharmaCyte’s pancreatic cancer treatment. The mice in third group were treated with cisplatin. The last group mice were treated with a combination of cisplatin and PharmaCyte’s pancreatic cancer treatment. A follow-up trial will use a similar ES-2 ovarian cancer model.
The expectations
Kenneth L. Waggoner, the Chief Executive stated that Pharmacyte Biotech Inc (OTCMKTS:PMCB) is looking forward to the findings of the expanded preclinical trial of the effectiveness of the pancreatic cancer treatment in mitigating the rate of malignant ascites fluid in the abdomen. In case of a successful trial, the company can move forward with a clinical study in patients with abdominal tumors like in ovarian cancer. The expectations are that the treatment will prove to be effective and minimize the number of fluid withdrawals that patients must undergo over a given period of time.
