Technologies

Background

Gastrointestinal (digestive system) cancers include cancers of the stomach and colon. According to the National Cancer Institute, there are an estimated 22,200 new cases and 11,000 deaths from stomach cancer currently in the U.S. Stomach cancer forms in tissues lining the stomach and is also called gastric cancer. Colorectal cancer forms in the tissues of the colon (the large intestine) and there are approximately 150,000 new cases of colorectal cancer and over 50,000 deaths from this disease in the U.S. each year.

There are different types of treatment options for patients with gastrointestinal cancers. The standard treatments can include surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, chemoradiation, and/or targeted therapies. With gastrointestinal cancers affecting so many, there exists an urgent need for more effective therapies and treatments.

Technology Description

Researchers at the University of New Mexico have developed a method of treating gastrointestinal cancer using a novel pharmaceutical composition that inhibits a pro-inflammation protein kinase. This method is likely to reduce the possibility that a cancer will metastasize in a patient with cancer or recur in a patient whose cancer is in remission. This unique composition is involved in multiple cellular processes such as inflammatory responses, gene expression regulation, and cell proliferation.

About STC.UNM

As the technology-transfer and economic-development organization for the University of New Mexico, STC.UNM protects and commercializes technologies developed at the University of New Mexico (UNM) by filing patents and copyrights and transferring the technologies to the marketplace. We connect the business communication (companies, entrepreneurs and investors) to these UNM technologies for licensing opportunities and the creation of startup companies. Visit www.stc.unm.edu.