Srinidi Mohan, Ph.D., associate professor in the School of Pharmacy, has received a second patent from the United States Patent and Trademark Office for his breakthrough methods and diagnostics for cancer detection and treatment monitoring.
Mohan previously received his first U.S. Patent titled “Methods and Diagnostics for Cancer Detection and Treatment Monitoring.” The method uses a marker in the blood to detect the presence of highly aggressive tumors and to help track cancer growth.
Mohan found that the marker Nw-hydroxy-L-Arginine (NOHA) was both a sensitive and reliable indicator for estrogen receptor-negative (ER–) tumors, the most aggressive types of breast cancer.
Currently, no reliable blood-based marker exists for estrogen-negative breast tumor prognosis and/or disease monitoring.
In the second patent, Mohan shows NOHA predictive response in ovarian carcinoma based on ER expression status.
Ovarian cancer is the most lethal gynecological malignancy. About 230,000 women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer each year, of which around 150,000 women die annually. Symptoms for ovarian cancer are generally less evident (if not absent) at early stages and are often more noticeable as the cancer progresses. The exact causes of ovarian cancer are still unclear, but most of the risk factors are associated with the changes in levels of sex hormones during women’s lifetime. The estrogen receptor (ER) mediates the effects of sex hormones on proliferation of ovarian cancer cells.