New York, NY / ACCESSWIRE / July 23, 2014 / Nuvilex, Inc. (OTCQB: NVLX) will begin preclinical studies in early August with its Contract Research Organization (CRO) Translational Drug Development (TD2) to study the first of 4 symptoms associated with pancreatic cancer and other abdominal cancers. In what is essentially the biggest step in Nuvilex's history to date, the company will enter the clinic under its own brand for the first time ever, and it will do so with the highly respected oncology CRO, TD2 and its Chief Development Officer, Dr. Daniel Von Hoff. In the studies, Nuvilex and TD2 will determine what effect the company's pancreatic cancer treatment will have on these symptoms.
Nuvilex's first preclinical study will test the success of the Cell-in-a-Box(R) /ifosfamide combination in slowing the accumulation of ascites fluid in cancer patients -- specifically malignant ascites. This is likely the initial study because in general, the prognosis for patients with malignant ascites is poor. According to the National Cancer Institute, the mean survival time is less than 4 months depending on the type of malignancy.
Malignant ascites is the abnormal accumulation of abdominal fluid due to the direct effects of cancer, and it appears most often in patients with pancreatic, breast, colon, ovarian, uterine and gastrointestinal tract (stomach and intestines) cancers. The fluid itself can contain cancerous cells, which, in turn, can "seed" at various places in the abdomen and form new tumors, so the fluid most continuously be drained from the patient.
Cancer patients that develop ascites deal with significant symptoms including pain, and endure poor quality of life. Nuvilex expects that its treatment can improve the quality of life for patients with pancreatic cancer and other abdominal cancers by slowing down this abnormal accumulation of malignant ascites.
So, now the question we're left with is; can slowing the accumulation of malignant ascites, potentially increase the mean survival time in those patients, and, in turn, can slowing the ascites improve the quality of life and potentially increase the survival rate for patients with advanced, inoperable pancreatic cancer.
