NYU’s Bluestone Center Awarded $1.2M from NIH to Investigate Gene Delivery for the Treatment of Oral Cancer Pain

Proposed studies will test the effectiveness of a novel, non-viral gene delivery method developed by Drs. Brian Schmidt and Seiichi Yamano in treating cancer painThe National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has awarded Drs. Brian Schmidt and Seiichi Yamano a $1.2M (3-year) grant to test whether their non-viral gene delivery method can effectively and safely treat oral cancer pain.Quality of life for oral cancer patients can be dismal. “Most of my oral cancer patients have severe pain,” says Brian L. Schmidt, DDS, MD, PhD, professor in the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at New York University College of Dentistry (NYU Dentistry) and director of NYU’s Bluestone Center for Clinical Research and of the NYU Oral Cancer Center. “A recent study revealed that oral cancer pain is often more severe than pain from any other type of cancer.” Due to their severe pain, oral cancer patients have difficulty eating, drinking, or talking, leaving doctors with little or no choice other than to prescribe high doses of opioid medications. “The clinical challenge of treating oral cancer pain is then compounded by the off-target effects produced by pharmacological agents which lack anatomical specificity,” notes Dr. Schmidt, “since high opioid doses generate unwanted side effects that create additional unintended suffering for the patient.” “Gene therapy is emerging as an ...
Source: Dental Technology Blog - Category: Dentistry Source Type: news