Sumitomo Rubber Industries and the Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University Work Together To Develop New Cancer Therapy: Aiming to Achieve Complete Cure of Cancer with an Aid of Original Special Polymer That Only Absorbs Cancer Cells
Jul. 19. 2024
Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd. is pleased to announce that it conducts a collaborative study to develop a new cancer therapy with a study group led by Professor Hirofumi Yamamoto at the Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University and other scholars. Using “a cancer cell absorption kit” featuring a special polymer,*1 developed by Sumitomo Rubber, which absorbs particular cancer cells from blood, we will identify how cancer cells’ signal pathways are activated. This study will enable the selection of a therapy that is better suited to each cancer case and accelerate the development of new cancer treatments and, in the future, studies for the complete cure of cancer.
With the numbers of cancer patients and cancer deaths increasing globally,*2 the establishment of a new cancer treatment technique has become a major social issue. In this environment, in order to contribute to the development of a new cancer treatment technique, we have conducted a study on a special polymer that absorbs only particular cancer cells and proteins from blood in collaboration with various specialized institutions, by applying our original macromolecular polymer technique.
Currently, we are conducting a collaborative study, aimed at identifying how cancer cells’ pathways are activated, with a study group of Professor Hirofumi Yamamoto and other scholars, using “a cancer cell absorption kit” developed by Sumitomo Rubber. This study introduces the latest analysis model that makes full use of the coefficients of correlation for molecules, which regulate cancer cell activity, and artificial intelligence.
When cancer develops, circulating tumor cells (CTCs)*3 develop in the blood of the patient. Today, these particular cancer cells are analyzed to study matters, including the selection of a treatment method. However, because there are only a small number of cancer cells in the blood, the conventional method, which centrifuges blood, had difficulty in completely separating responsible particular cancer cells from blood cells, putting limitations on a more accurate selection of a treatment method.
The original special polymer used in the Sumitomo Rubber’s cancer cell absorption kit uses the effect of intermediate water*4 to control the hardness of the special polymer, thus enabling only particular cancer cells to be absorbed. In addition, it is gradually becoming possible to culture extracted cancer cells for a long period of time, and recovering a larger number of cancer cells is possible. Target diseases will expand from the current colorectal cancer, hepatoma, and pancreatic cancer to prostate and breast cancers. Through the study on CTCs, we will identify the cancer activation signal, which is the intracellular mechanism that promotes the growth and metastasis of cancer cells, so that more patients can use molecular target drugs,*5 which block the signal. Moreover, using cultured cancer cells, as a companion diagnostic tool, a collaborative study for the Moonshot Initiative*6 aimed at achieving the complete cure of cancer in the future will be accelerated, which is pursued by the study group of Professor Hirofumi Yamamoto and other scholars.
We will realize “through innovation we will create a future of joy and well-being for all,” which is the Purpose set out in our philosophy structure Our Philosophy, conduct studies on advanced methods of cancer treatment, and thereby contribute to the further development of medical technologies toward a future in which cancer can be completely cured.
*1 A molecule formed by the process in which a large number of small molecules of the same kind (monomers) bond to each other and the corresponding structural unit repeats, or a substance composed of it.
*2 Source: American Cancer Society website
*3 Cancer cells that entered the blood from the primary lesion (the place where cancer first developed) and are circulating. They are effective at evaluating matters such as the state of cancer progression and the risk of recurrence.
*4 Intermediate water is one of the conditions of water with its existence being suggested experimentally. It includes ordinary water and water that freezes at a temperature below 0℃. Water that will not freeze even at −100℃ is called non-freezing water.
*5 Drugs that target a particular molecule or genetic mutation of cancer cells to slow the growth and progression of the cancer.
*6 The Moonshot Research and Development Program is implemented as a system for promoting challenging R&D projects with seven ambitious goals that attract people (Moonshot Goals), which were set by the government with the aim of addressing important social issues such as a super-aging society and global warming. Professor Hirofumi Yamamoto at the Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University is pursuing “Initiative aimed at achieving the complete cure of cancer by resetting metastatic cancer with nucleic acid targeting multiple molecules and enhanced DDS performance” under KAKEN Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (A) (2024-2026).
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With the numbers of cancer patients and cancer deaths increasing globally,*2 the establishment of a new cancer treatment technique has become a major social issue. In this environment, in order to contribute to the development of a new cancer treatment technique, we have conducted a study on a special polymer that absorbs only particular cancer cells and proteins from blood in collaboration with various specialized institutions, by applying our original macromolecular polymer technique.
Currently, we are conducting a collaborative study, aimed at identifying how cancer cells’ pathways are activated, with a study group of Professor Hirofumi Yamamoto and other scholars, using “a cancer cell absorption kit” developed by Sumitomo Rubber. This study introduces the latest analysis model that makes full use of the coefficients of correlation for molecules, which regulate cancer cell activity, and artificial intelligence.
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| Image of “a cancer cell absorption kit” |
When cancer develops, circulating tumor cells (CTCs)*3 develop in the blood of the patient. Today, these particular cancer cells are analyzed to study matters, including the selection of a treatment method. However, because there are only a small number of cancer cells in the blood, the conventional method, which centrifuges blood, had difficulty in completely separating responsible particular cancer cells from blood cells, putting limitations on a more accurate selection of a treatment method.
The original special polymer used in the Sumitomo Rubber’s cancer cell absorption kit uses the effect of intermediate water*4 to control the hardness of the special polymer, thus enabling only particular cancer cells to be absorbed. In addition, it is gradually becoming possible to culture extracted cancer cells for a long period of time, and recovering a larger number of cancer cells is possible. Target diseases will expand from the current colorectal cancer, hepatoma, and pancreatic cancer to prostate and breast cancers. Through the study on CTCs, we will identify the cancer activation signal, which is the intracellular mechanism that promotes the growth and metastasis of cancer cells, so that more patients can use molecular target drugs,*5 which block the signal. Moreover, using cultured cancer cells, as a companion diagnostic tool, a collaborative study for the Moonshot Initiative*6 aimed at achieving the complete cure of cancer in the future will be accelerated, which is pursued by the study group of Professor Hirofumi Yamamoto and other scholars.
We will realize “through innovation we will create a future of joy and well-being for all,” which is the Purpose set out in our philosophy structure Our Philosophy, conduct studies on advanced methods of cancer treatment, and thereby contribute to the further development of medical technologies toward a future in which cancer can be completely cured.
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[Image of Moonshot Initiative of the Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University] |
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*1 A molecule formed by the process in which a large number of small molecules of the same kind (monomers) bond to each other and the corresponding structural unit repeats, or a substance composed of it.
*2 Source: American Cancer Society website
*3 Cancer cells that entered the blood from the primary lesion (the place where cancer first developed) and are circulating. They are effective at evaluating matters such as the state of cancer progression and the risk of recurrence.
*4 Intermediate water is one of the conditions of water with its existence being suggested experimentally. It includes ordinary water and water that freezes at a temperature below 0℃. Water that will not freeze even at −100℃ is called non-freezing water.
*5 Drugs that target a particular molecule or genetic mutation of cancer cells to slow the growth and progression of the cancer.
*6 The Moonshot Research and Development Program is implemented as a system for promoting challenging R&D projects with seven ambitious goals that attract people (Moonshot Goals), which were set by the government with the aim of addressing important social issues such as a super-aging society and global warming. Professor Hirofumi Yamamoto at the Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University is pursuing “Initiative aimed at achieving the complete cure of cancer by resetting metastatic cancer with nucleic acid targeting multiple molecules and enhanced DDS performance” under KAKEN Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (A) (2024-2026).