Description:
The Current State of Art
Uterine sarcoma, though with very low incidence (4% of uterine cancer), has a high malignant degree and poor prognosis. Leiomyosarcoma is the most common type of uterine sarcoma and usually occurs in women over 40 years.
Proper differentiation between benign leiomyoma and malignant uterine leiomyosarcoma can dramatically improve the efficacy of patient treatment modalities, as leiomyosarcoma has a poor prognosis.
Problems with the current art:
However, the limitations of current diagnostic tests warrant more research in leiomyosarcoma diagnosis. For example, hysterectomy is invasive; MRI including hysterectomy and MRI is offering more information but it is not accurate. Blood-based biomarkers such as lactic dehydrogenase are being developed but lack verification in clinical studies. Therefore, there is a need to develop diagnostic tools for uterine sarcoma to save patient’s lives.
Advantages of our invention
The scientists at AU identified the critical role of survivin in uterine sarcoma development and developed a novel method to detect uterine sarcoma, in particular leiomyosarcoma. Uterine cells suspected of being cancerous are transfected with a viral vector that has a survivin promoter and expresses a reporter gene such as luciferase to indicate the presence of cancerous cells. This novel method would complement the current diagnostic tools and is a promising approach.
AURI-2016-004
Lead Inventor: Ayman Al-Hendy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayman_Al-Hendy
IP status: Issued 9,790,562
Application Date: 09/30/2016