Cancer Free Families:  BRM4 and Clinical Research 

Many forms of cancer do not respond well to conventional methods of chemotherapy treatment.  Because of this, scientists are looking beyond the conceptual framework of administering cytotoxic poisons to Cancer patients in favor of finding molecular messengers which function to arouse the Immune System and focus its attention upon killing cancer cells within the body.

This strategy is often referred to as immunotherapy, or biologic therapy, and employs substances termed biological response modifiers (BRMs).  These medicinal compounds are typically produced in the biotechnology and biopharmaceutical sectors, and include: monoclonal antibodies, interferons, and interleukins.  BRMs are primarily used in the treatment of Cancer, as well as in Rheumatoid Arthritis, Hepatitis C, and other serious diseases. 

In the human Immune System , the primary agents which are charged to seek out, identify and destroy Cancer cells are called Natural Killer (NK and NKT) cells.  Therefore, the most ardent and promising direction of pursuit in the development of newer and more effective cancer treatments is in the development of a class of biological response modifiers called Immunomodulators—that are specifically promote NK cell activity.

NK cell deficiency is known to be a primary factor which leads to increased severity of illness and death rate from various Cancers and other life-threatening diseases (e.g., Coronary Heart Disease, Cerebrovascular diseases, and severe viral illnesses).  Two specific examples are those of metastatic melanoma (MM) and renal cell carcinoma (RCC).

Both diseases are refractory to standard cytotoxic chemotherapy but appear to respond to immunotherapy with interleukin-2 (IL-2) in some patients.  Despite recent advances in new agents for the treatment of RCC, none have demonstrated an overall improvement in survival; complete responses are rare, and long-term remissions have yet to be reached.

RBAC (BRM4) is a novel medicinal compound that has been shown to function as a powerful and non-toxic Immunomodulator.  In clinical studies, it has been shown to enhance NK cell anti-cancer activity (apoptosis) and improve the relative proportion of NK cells.  These effects correlate with improved survival in patients with solid tumors undergoing chemotherapy.  In the laboratory, in vitro studies of BRM4 have found that it can also upregulate the CD25 receptor (the receptor for IL-2), and thereby improve target cell responsiveness.

Due to these specific immunomodulatory properties, BRM4 has the potential to improve survival rates in patients with solid tumors by combining it with IL-2.  It also can diminish the toxicity and side-effects experienced by these patients by allowing for a reduction in the effective dosages of cytotoxic chemotherapy, thereby improving their overall course of illness.

It is of dire necessity to find ways of improving response rates for these patients and all forms of Cancer, including non-solid forms like Leukemia.  This is the motivation of our research at Cancer Free Families.