New Data Demonstrates Talabostat's Anti-Tumor and Anti-Metastatic Properties in Preclinical Osteosarcoma Models

  
    
  
  
    
      Point Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: POTP) presented new data in an 
      osteosarcoma model demonstrating that mice treated with talabostat had a 
      four- fold decrease in the number of primary tumors compared to saline 
      treatment. In a separate experiment in the study, mice treated with 
      talabostat had a 20-fold decrease in the number of gross metastatic lung 
      nodules compared to saline treatment. The studies, conducted in the 
      laboratory of Dr. Lee J. Helman, in the Pediatric Oncology Branch of the 
      National Institutes of Health, were presented at the 21st Annual Meeting 
      of the International Society for Biological Therapy of Cancer (iSBTC) 
      Development in Los Angeles, CA this past Saturday.
    
    
      Osteosarcoma is the most common pediatric bone cancer in the United 
      States. According to a 2002 article in the Journal of Oncology, advances 
      in surgery and chemotherapy have led to cure rates approaching 70% for 
      children who present with localized disease. However, children who 
      present with metastatic disease have only a 20% survival rate.
    
    
      In one experiment, talabostat was shown to decrease the growth of 
      primary tumors. Mice were injected intramuscularly with a murine 
      osteosarcoma cell line and treatment with either talabostat or saline 
      began the following day. Mice treated with talabostat had a marked 
      reduction in the development of primary tumors. Only two out of 10 mice 
      treated with talabostat went on to form tumors whereas eight out 10 mice 
      treated with saline formed tumors.
    
    
      In a separate experiment, mice were injected in the tail vein with the 
      murine osteosarcoma cell line to assess talabostat’s 
      anti-metastatic properties. Post injection, mice were treated with 
      either talabostat or saline. After 24 days, mice treated with talabostat 
      had a 20-fold decrease in the number of gross metastatic lung nodules 
      compared to the control group (p