Gold Nanoparticle Prostate Cancer Treatment Found Safe in Dogs, Study Shows

Currently, large doses of chemotherapy are required when treating certain forms of cancer, resulting in toxic side effects. The chemicals enter the body and work to destroy or shrink the tumor, but also harm vital organs and drastically affect bodily functions. Now, scientists at the University of Missouri have demonstrated that a new form of prostate cancer treatment that uses radioactive gold nanoparticles, and was developed at MU, is safe to use in dogs. Sandra Axiak-Bechtel, an assistant professor in oncology at the MU College of Veterinary Medicine, says that this is a big step for gold nanoparticle research.

"Proving that gold nanoparticles are safe to use in the treatment of prostate cancer in dogs is a big step toward gaining approval for clinical trials in men," Axiak-Bechtel said. "Dogs develop prostate cancer naturally in a very similar way as humans, so the gold nanoparticle treatment has a great chance to translate well to human patients."

For their treatment, Kattesh Katti, a curators' professor of radiology and physics in the School of Medicine and the College of Arts and Science, and other MU scientists, have found a more efficient way of targeting prostate tumors by using radioactive gold nanoparticles. This new treatment would require doses that are thousands of times smaller than chemotherapy and do not travel through the body inflicting damage to healthy areas.

"We found remarkable results in mice, which showed a significant reduction in tumor volume through single injections of the radioactive gold nanoparticles," said Katti. "These findings have formed a solid foundation, and we hope to translate the utility of this novel nanomedicine therapy to treating human cancer patients."

Current treatments for prostate cancer are not effective in patients who have aggressive prostate cancer tumors. Most of the time, prostate cancers are slow-growing; the disease remains localized and it is easily managed. However, aggressive forms of the disease spread to other parts of the body, and is the second-leading cause of cancer deaths in U.S. men. The MU scientists believe their treatment will be able to shrink aggressive tumors or eliminate them completely. Axiak-Bechtel says this treatment can be safe and effective in dogs as well as humans because dogs are the only other mammal to naturally contract the aggressive form of prostate cancer.

"Being able to test the gold nanoparticle treatment on dogs is very helpful, because dogs develop these tumors naturally," Axiak-Bechtel said. "Because dogs can't tell us how they feel, many times they are diagnosed with the disease too late, but this treatment gives us some hope that we can still combat aggressive tumors."

Axiak-Bechtel and Katti, who is also a senior research scientist at the MU Research Reactor, have been working with colleagues in the Department of Radiology and Cathy Cutler at the MU Research Reactor, to develop the gold nanoparticle treatment. This research was presented at the 2012 World Veterinary Cancer Conference in Paris.

This study is a result of collaboration through the One Health, One Medicine area of Mizzou Advantage. Mizzou Advantage is a program that focuses on four areas of strength: food for the future, media of the future, one health, one medicine, and sustainable energy. The goals of Mizzou Advantage are to strengthen existing faculty networks, create new networks and propel Mizzou's research, instruction and other activities to the next level.

Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD)

1. What is foot-and-mouth disease?

FMD does not have human health significance. It is a highly contagious viral

disease of cattle, sheep, swine, goats, deer and other cloven-hoofed animals that

causes blisters on the mouth, teats and soft tissues of the feet. The disease is not hoof-and mouth because the virus never attacks

the animal’s hoof. Infected animals have

difficulty eating and walking. They lose weight rapidly. They suffer production loss

from which they rarely recover.

2. Can people get foot-and-mouth disease? Are the meat and milk safe to consume?

FMD is not a significant health risk to

people. Meat and milk of infected animals

are safe to consume. They may be

dangerous as sources of infection to susceptible animals. People can carry the

disease on their clothes and shoes, and also

spread the disease to susceptible animals. The virus can exist in a person’s nose for up to 28 hours after exposure to infected animals and be spread through the air.

3. Is FMD the same as mad cow

disease?

No, they are completely different diseases. FMD is a highly contagious viral disease

of cloven-hoofed animals. It does not have human health significance. Mad cow disease, technically known as Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), is

believed to be caused by a protein called a prion and affects the central nervous system of cattle. It was transmitted among cattle in Britain by the practice of feeding rendered protein, such as meat and bone meal, to cattle as a nutritional supplement. This practice has been banned in the United States since October 1997. Prions are highly stable; they resist freezing, drying, and heating at normal cooking

temperatures. The FMD virus is fragile and easily killed by disinfectants.

In Great Britain, a human disease, called New-Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease,

has been attributed to consumption of BSE-infected beef. Mad cow disease has

never been diagnosed in the United States. The United States has an active testing

program in place. FMD was last seen in the United States in 1929. See the chart on

the back for a comparison of these two diseases.

4.     How is FMD controlled?

FMD is best controlled by efforts to keep the disease out of our country. Importation

of meat products or infected animals from FMD-affected countries is prohibited.

Contact should be limited between susceptible animals in the United States

and people traveling from these countries. Strict bio-safety procedures should be

practiced on farms and at animal exhibits as well as airports and other sites of

foreign travel entrance into the United States. Vaccination for FMD is possible, but

because the virus mutates quickly, vaccination isn’t always effective.

5.    What is being done to prevent FMD from entering the United States and Indiana?

The United States Department of Agriculture is working with the U.S.

Customs Service to monitor all points of entry for international travelers. They want

to make sure the public is aware of this disease and helps contain it.

In Indiana, the State Board of Animal Health is working with the USDA, Purdue

University Cooperative Extension Service and private veterinarians. They are making

livestock producers aware of early disease symptoms and ways to prevent FMD on

their farms. The BOAH has increased surveillance at livestock markets, meat

processing plants, on farms and at all major importation sites to the state.

If FMD gets to the United States, rapid initiation of isolation and quarantine

procedures will limit the damage in our animal population.

6.    What can you do?

Follow USDA guidelines if you are traveling internationally to FMD-affected

countries. Avoid farms, stockyards, zoos and livestock fairs in countries affected by

FMD. Wait five days after your arrival to the United States before contact with

FMD-susceptible animals. Launder and dry-clean all of your clothes after the trip.

Clean shoes, luggage and personal items with a bleach solution of five tablespoons

of household bleach and one gallon of water. Stay informed about FMD through

television, radio, newspapers, magazines and the Internet.

The difference between mad cow and FMD