For Immediate Release
For more information, contact:
Mike Shefky, Communications and Marketing Manager
mshefky@sitcancer.org (414) 271-2456 www.sitcancer.org
NEW RESEARCH FOCUSES ON IL-24 AND ITS ROLE IN WOUND HEALING
Milwaukee---The International Society for Biological Therapy of Cancer (sitc) hosts "IL-24 and Its Role in Wound Healing" as an oral abstract presentation by Dr. Nancy J. Poindexter of the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.
The presentation will take place during the "Cytokines" session of the sitc 22nd Annual Meeting held in Boston, MA. "Cytokines" is co-chaired by Drs. Michael T. Lotze (University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute) and Crystal Mackall (National Cancer Institute) and runs from 3:45 PM - 5:15 PM on Friday, November 2.
"The tumor microenvironment is the next hurdle in developing cancer immunotherapies," says Dr. Lotze. "These exciting data support the hypothesis that IL-24 functions during an inflammatory response in the skin serving as an inhibitory factor for proliferating and migrating keratinocytes during wound healing."
Dr. Poindexter and her collaborators from the M. D. Anderson Cancer Center and Introgen Therapeutics have focused on the earliest events in melanocyte malignant conversion and have studied the cytokine IL-24 induced by inflammatory events occurring during normal skin repair. IL-24 is the protein product of the melanoma differentiation associated gene 7 (MDA-7). It was originally identified as a tumor suppressor molecule and was then renamed IL-24 and classified as a cytokine based on its chromosomal location in the IL-10 locus, its mRNA expression in leukocytes, and its secretory sequence elements. It was previously found that IL-24 is expressed by cytokine activated monocytes, T lymphocytes, and melanocytes and its expression is lost during melanoma disease progression and invasion.
"IL24 and Its Role in Wound Healing" includes the following experimental results:
In collaboration with Introgen Therapeutics, delivery of restorative levels of IL-24 using gene therapy (INGN 241) is the focus of a Phase II clinical trial in patients with melanoma at M.D. Anderson.
Founded in 1984, the International Society for Biological Therapy of Cancer (sitc) is an organization of clinicians, researchers, students, post-doctoral fellows, and allied health professionals dedicated to improving cancer patient outcomes by advancing the development and application of biological therapy through interaction, innovation, and leadership.
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EDITOR'S NOTE: Members of the media are encouraged to attend the 22nd Annual Meeting free of charge by presenting their press credentials at the sitc registration desk located in the Seaport World Trade Center in Boston, Massachusetts.
