Breakthrough in finding unique Targets on cancer cells to be Presented at 2022 ASCO

Novel method to be presented at 2022 ASCO Annual Meeting offers potential for developing highly targeted cancer therapies without serious side effects

ORLANDO, FL / May 27, 2022 / Dr. Elliot Davis, President and founder of Cancer Antibodies Inc., a non-profit cancer research foundation, today announced development of a novel method that detects unique antigenic targets on the surface of cancer cells and not normal cells. When those unique sites are targeted, cancer cells can be preferentially killed while leaving normal cells unharmed.

All cells, including cancer cells, have areas on the cell surface called antigens. An epitope is the part of the antigen to which antibodies bind. If unique cancer-specific surface antigens or epitopes (oncotopes) are found, they can be targeted for the precision killing of cancer. Some of these tumor specific antigens, known as neo-antigens, form on cancer cells when certain mutations occur in tumor DNA and are targets for immunotherapy. The Cancer Antibodies Inc. novel platform can find multiple unique cancer-specific antigens, neo-antigens and oncotopes that exist only on cancer cells. Therapeutic antibodies can be developed to target these unique antigenic sites.

Cancer is one of the deadliest diseases in the developed world. It is a leading cause of death in the U.S. and around the world, with millions of people dying of the disease each year. Traditional cancer treatment strategies, including surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, hormone therapy and targeted drugs, focus mainly on either reducing the viability or inhibiting the growth of tumor cells, by directly acting on them. However, these traditional strategies have a vast number of potentially dangerous side effects, including the risk of developing a second cancer.

Dr. Elliot Davis is no stranger to these harmful side effects; he has been battling metastasized prostate cancer for the last 10 years and has gone through a whole gamut of painful and debilitating treatments. Dr. Davis along with his son Joe Davis and other family members have personally funded the research with their life savings over the last five years to get it to this point.

The main challenges to finding a cure for cancer are that traditional cancer treatment strategies affect normal cells leading to often debilitating side effects, and as the cancer grows and spreads, the tumor cell DNA mutates further making molecular targeted therapies ineffective. This new method offers a solution to both of these challenges: unique cancer specific antigens are targeted and normal cells are not affected and if the cancer cells mutate, the technique can be utilized to find new targets, such as neo-antigens, on the newly mutated cancer cells.

Using the novel platform, their research findings include:

Antibodies generated against a specific type of cancer can kill those cancer cells without harming normal cells from the same tissue type and the same person.
These antibodies against one person’s cancer can kill the same cancer type from a different person.
These antibodies surprisingly can also kill cancer cells of a different type than the kind they were derived against.
Antibodies generated against one person’s cancer do not harm normal cells from a different person.
The platform can generate antibodies against a variety of cancers.
Dr. Davis and his team will present the studies’ findings at the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s (ASCO) Annual Meeting on Sunday, June 5 from 8:00am-11:00am in Hall A, Poster: 186. ASCO is the largest and one of the most prestigious oncology organizations, with its annual conference attended by cancer researchers and clinical oncologists from around the world.

An abstract on the research breakthroughs was published by ASCO on May 26, 2022 and can be accessed on the official ASCO website here.

Cancer Antibodies Inc. is seeking funding so that these results can be moved from the lab into the clinic as soon as possible. Donations can be made through: https://www.cancerantibodies.com

About Cancer Antibodies Inc.:
Cancer Antibodies Inc. was founded by Dr. Elliot Davis who first gained recognition as a researcher helping the disabled automate their environment using pattern recognition. Dr. Davis was formerly associated with SUNY Buffalo in Biophysics and served as President of Pattern Recognition Research Associates, Inc. He was a consultant at the United Cerebral Palsy Association of Western New York. He was also a Research Associate & Advocate for the Disabled at the Healthcare Instruments and Devices Institute (HIDI) of SUNY Buffalo. His professional memberships include The Antibody Society and ASCO. He is also the recipient of numerous grants and contracts and has worked with the FBI and Dept. of Defense in the area of automatic pattern recognition.

Public Relations Contacts:
Stephanie Levinson and Joe Davis
[email protected]