SBI ALApromo Co., Ltd.
SBI ALApromo Co., Ltd., (Head office: Minato-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director and CEO: Yoshitaka Kitao; “SBI ALApromo”), a subsidiary of SBI Holdings, Inc. that conducts research and development of cosmetics, health foods and pharmaceuticals using 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA)*1 has succeeded in the detection of peritoneal dissemination of gastric cancer and lymph node metastasis using ALA in collaborative research with a group led by Professor Otsuji and Assistant professor Murayama of Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine.
The study results were presented at the 49th Annual Meeting of Japan Society of Clinical Oncology held on October 27, 2011.
ALA-assisted photodynamic diagnosis (ALA-PDD) for cancer refers to a diagnostic method for the detection of cancer cells by imaging fluorescence from protoporphyrin IX (PPIX) which selectively accumulates in cancer cells after oral administration of ALA. ALA-PDD is believed to be applicable to a wide range of cancer types. SBI ALApromo has already been working on the development of ALA as an agent for urgent intraoperative photodynamic diagnosis of brain tumors.
In advanced gastric cancer, cancer cells spilling into the peritoneal cavity through the stomach wall cause a metastasis termed “peritoneal dissemination”. While this metastasis and lymph node metastasis are feared as causes of recurrence, they are hard to detect with an existing imaging test, especially when the lesion is minute or flat.
Professor Otsuji et. al. have been working on the study of ALA-PDD as applied to peritoneal dissemination and a part of the results were featured on the NHK TV program “Science Zero.”
The presentation at the JSCO meeting showed the effectiveness of ALA-PDD in cases with peritoneal dissemination and lymph node metastasis of gastric cancer.
ALA-PDD is expected to be a diagnostic method that is important in providing intraoperative support to prevent incomplete excision of lesions, minimizing the scope of resection to maintain an acceptable QOL for patients, and selecting the appropriate treatment option.
SBI ALApromo will make further efforts to pursue research on ALA-PDD so that it may help the many patients who are struggling with cancer.
Research outcomes and up-to-date information about ALA will be also available from ALAplus Lab (URL: http://www.ala-plus.jp/).
Glossary:
*1: 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA)
“ALA” is a type of natural amino acid that has survived the last 3,600 million years and is contained even in food products such as red wine and radish sprouts. It is known to get involved in production of chlorophyll, which is essential for photosynthesis in plants, and in production of vitamin B12, blood constituents and intracellular energy in animals. “ALA” is well known as an extremely important and essential ingredient for any species. It is used in a wide range of applications from intraoperative diagnosis of brain tumors and cancer screening in the medical field, anemia prophylaxis in the health foods field, to care for pimples and rough skin in the cosmetics field.
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