Preclinical Animal Models in Cancer Supportive Care

Presented By: 
Benjamin Cuiffo
Jesus Mena
Gregory Lyng

Overview: Radiation and/or chemotherapy-induced oral mucositis, dermatitis, proctitis, and GI mucositis/chemotherapy-induced diarrhea (CID) are frequent and debilitating side effects of cancer treatment.  Treatment of these side effects (and several others) is often referred to as cancer supportive care.  Specifically, oral ulcerative mucositis is a common, painful, dose-limiting toxicity of drug and radiation therapy for cancer characterized by breakdown of the oral mucosa which results in the formation of ulcerative lesions; it occurs in almost all patients undergoing radiation therapy for cancer of the head and neck as well as a high percentage of patients undergoing bone marrow transplantation and/or chemotherapy treatment. Radiation-induced dermatitis is an inflammatory condition of the skin often occurring as a result of exposure to ionizing radiation during radiation therapy for a variety of malignancies. Proctitis is associated with radiation directed to the abdomen and/or pelvis in the treatment of rectal, prostate, or cervical malignancies; proctitis symptoms include rectal bleeding, diarrhea, discharge of mucus and tenesmus, a feeling or inability to empty the bowel upon defecation (likely a result of extensive rectal tissue fibrosis or possibly the formation of rectal strictures).  Diarrhea is one of the most common toxicities associated with chemotherapy, reported in up to 80% of patients, and uncontrolled CID can result in serious physical (dehydration, electrolyte imbalance, renal insufficiency, immune dysfunction, disruption of treatment, and even death), emotional (anxiety depression, caregiver strain) and economic (hospitalization) outcomes. 

Collectively, research into Cancer Supportive Care has rapidly emerged as a significant growth area for the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry as a result of the dramatic improvement in the survivorship of cancer patients.  Focus is now rapidly shifting to the development of new drugs and therapeutics that address the unintended complications that can result from cancer treatment. Biomodels is a leader in Cancer Supportive Care research through its expertise in developing innovative models based on a thorough understanding of the toxicities associated with chemotherapy and radiotherapy in an oncology setting. 

While Biomodels is widely recognized for its groundbreaking work in oral mucositis, we have also developed innovative models for proctitis, dermatitis, and GI mucositis/Chemotherapy-induced Diarrhea.  This webinar will showcase translational and predictive animal models of cancer supportive care that focus on the underlying biological processes of each disease described above.  Additionally, the webinar will provide an overview of each clinical condition and how the utilization of both traditional and functional analyses in our animal models result in outcomes that will best predict how your therapeutic will behave in the clinic.  Finally, we will discuss the importance that the FDA has placed on obtaining novel cancer supportive care therapeutic preclinical efficacy data in contextually accurate tumor / treatment models, so as to show that a novel therapy directed toward treatment-associated toxicities will not cause unintended consequences toward exacerbation of tumor growth / progression, and/or mitigation of the efficacy of the anti-tumor treatment.

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