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Public research funding is sought for Erie man's cancer treatment technique
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A University of Texas researcher says his team has targeted and killed cancer with a Washington County native's novel treatment procedure, which could go into human clinical trials as early as 2010.
Success in research using a radio wave generator and protocol developed by John Kanzius of Erie also has prompted Gov. Ed Rendell and U.S. Sens. Arlen Specter and Bob Casey to work to line up funding for the research.
"It's the kind of project that merits review by a couple levels of government," said Mr. Casey, D-Pa. "It's nice to see a guy in Erie have that kind of impact on research."
Last week at Gannon University in Erie, Dr. Steven Curley of M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston gave an upbeat report on the research that his team of nine, including researchers from Rice University, are conducting.
The Kanzius treatment process involves spiking cancer cells with gold nanoparticles, then heating them noninvasively to fatal temperatures with radio frequencies generated by his Kanzius RF Generator.
"We've proven we can get nanoparticles inside to kill cancer cells," said Dr. Curley, a liver cancer surgeon and researcher at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. "We can target these cancer cells."
His team, he said, has targeted cancer cells in petri dishes and killed them in 10 to 12 seconds. The research is advancing to targeting and killing human cancers in rabbits.
Mr. Kanzius, 64, who splits his time between Erie and Sanibel Island, Fla., invented the high-powered radiofrequency generator while undergoing chemotherapy for b-cell leukemia. He developed his expertise in radio frequencies by building, operating and owning radio and television stations.
Dr. Curley said the noninvasive RF process could be used on any form of cancer for which a targeting molecule can be developed. For now, the research is focused on the most pernicious cancers, including pancreatic, breast, melanoma, colon and liver cancers, and leukemia and sarcomas.
During the Erie symposium on the research, it was announced that more than $1 million has been raised to support the research that M.D. Anderson and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center are conducting. More information is available at the nonprofit foundation's Web site, Kanziuscancerresearch.org.
Dr. Curley also announced that Erie has been selected as a site for human clinical trials.
"I believe this will work, and I believe we will get it into human clinical trials," he said.
Mr. Rendell and Mr. Casey each spent about an hour recently with Mr. Kanzius and vowed to help raise government funds to advance the research, which Dr. Curley said will require $10 million to $12 million to progress to human trials.
Chuck Ardo, Mr. Rendell's spokesman, said the governor "had enough confidence in what he heard and saw" during his meeting with Mr. Kanzius to convey a message to UPMC on his interest in landing state funding for research there.
Mr. Kanzius said UPMC discussed forming a partnership with him and indicated interest in taking control of the project at medical center expense to take the research into commercialization.
But Mr. Kanzius said M.D. Anderson's involvement, along with more recent interest in various other universities that are developing cancer targeting molecules, prompted him to decline the offer.
"[UPMC] wanted to go all the way with this," he said. "While it sounded very attractive, after pondering it for several weeks, I've decided not to go that route.
"I just want to be in a position to be flexible," Mr. Kanzius said.
Courtney McCrimmon, UPMC spokeswoman, said the center held preliminary discussions with Mr. Kanzius about commercializing the technology. "We remain eager to work with him to advance this potentially life-saving research," she said.
Neither Mr. Rendell nor his spokesman could be reached for comment on Mr. Kanzius' decision.
But Dr. Curley said research is nine months ahead of schedule, with money available for at least another year, with fund-raising efforts continuing. He said government funding will be necessary to get the research into human clinical trials.
Mr. Casey said he's recruited senators from Texas and other states to seek federal funding to advance the research.
In a letter last month, Mr. Casey asked Michael Leavitt, secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, to review the project's potential.
"Mr. Kanzius' efforts and the research initiative ongoing at both the University of Pittsburgh and M.D. Anderson are worthy of federal attention," he said.
First Published July 30, 2008 12:00 am
