Washington: Researchers are investigating whether an injectable dye known as PV-10 is capable of shrinking tumours and reducing the spread of cancer.
According to the new study at Moffitt Cancer Center, PV-10 is a solution developed from Rose Bengal, a water-soluble dye commonly used to stain damaged cells in the eye.
Early clinical trials show PV-10 can boost immune response in melanoma tumors, as well as the blood stream.
Shari Pilon-Thomas, Ph.D., assistant member of Moffitt`s Immunology Program, said that various injection therapies for melanoma have been examined over the past 40 years, but few have shown the promising results that they are currently witnessing with PV-10.
In the initial study, researchers injected a single dose of PV-10 into mice with melanoma.
The result was a significant reduction in the skin cancer lesions, as well as a sizable reduction in melanoma tumors that had spread to the lungs.
The researchers said the dye solution appeared to produce a robust anti-tumor immune response and may be safer than existing immunological agents.
The study appears in PLOS ONE, an open-access, peer-reviewed online journal.
ANI
