Researchers at UCSD Cancer Center have obtained evidence that the common anticoagulant drug heparin diminishes metastasis of certain cancers in mice by interfering with interactions between platelets and specific molecules on tumor cell surfaces. This work also indicates that the early phase of these interactions is crucial for metastasis — a process in which tumor cells from the primary site enter the bloodstream, travel to distant tissues and establish new tumors.

The researchers, who report their work in the March 13 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Scicences, say the findings make a compelling argument for initiating clinical trials of heparin in patients with newly diagnosed cancer.

“The notion of using anticoagulants to inhibit metastasis is not new,” said the study’s senior author Ajit Varki, M.D.

Animal studies in the ‘60s and ‘70s showed that heparin — delivered by injection or intravenously — inhibits metastasis. Follow-up human studies focused instead on the use of oral anticoagulants, which are easier to manage than heparin. Those attempts failed, however, and research in this area stalled. Other mechanisms for the heparin effect have since been suggested, but not proven.

The new research, by Lubor Borsig, Ph.D., a fellow working in Varki’s lab, details heparin’s precise mechanism and explains why earlier clinical trials using oral anticoagulants failed.

The findings show that the anti-metastic effect of heparin is not due to its ability to prevent blood clotting, as was previously thought, but rather its blockage of early tumor-platelet interactions.

When cancer cells break away from the original tumor and enter the bloodstream, they attract platelets, which bind to sugarcoated molecules called mucins on the cancer cell surface, forming a cloak. This platelet cloak appears to protect the tumor cells from the body’s natural defense systems. Heparin interferes with formation of the platelet cloak, apparently leaving tumor cells exposed to attack by white blood cells.

Experimental mice received a single dose of heparin, which lasted only a few hours, yet this early exposure resulted in markedly reduced cancer cell survival and metastasis when the mice were examined several weeks later.


photoSerologicals relocates corporate headquarters
Serologicals Corp. recently announced the relocation of its corporate headquarters from Clarkson, Ga., to Norcross, Ga., a northeastern suburb of Atlanta.

The company’s central testing laboratory and Atlanta-East donor center will remain at the Clarkson facility. Approximately 120 employees have been relocated to the 50,000 square-foot, two-story office building. The facility has been completely renovated to accommodate the company’s future growth.

The company’s new address is: 5655 Spalding Drive, Norcross, GA 30092. The telephone is: 678-728-2000.


photoCarl Zeiss, Inc. celebrates 75th anniversary as a U.S. company
Carl Zeiss, Inc. of Thornwood, N.Y., the U.S. subsidiary of Carl Zeiss, Germany, a world leader in precision optics and measurement, recently celebrated its 75th anniversary as a U.S. corporation at a special ceremony in New York City.

The event took place at the Rose Center for Earth and Space at the American Museum of Natural History, the site of the new Hayden Planetarium featuring the Zeiss Mark IX planetarium projector. Attending were Zeiss executive managers from Germany; present and former senior managers from all U.S. and Canadian Zeiss companies; customers and dealers from the scientific, medical, industrial and consumer markets served by Zeiss; and long-term Zeiss employees.

The occasion also served to honor Dr. Peter Grassmann, chairman of the board of both Carl Zeiss Germany and Carl Zeiss Inc., who retired from his positions at the end of 2000. James J. Kelly, president of Carl Zeiss, Inc., reviewed Dr. Grassmann’s many accomplishments during his seven years of service.

The North American Carl Zeiss companies employ more than 1,000 people and represent more than 20 percent of worldwide sales.


24-hour Mad Cow test may help stop spread of disease
A test for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (Mad Cow disease) that yields results in less than 24 hours is as sensitive as the more traditional test, according to European researchers.

The rapid test, which has been in use in France since the first of the year, should help eliminate previously undiagnosed BSE-affected animals and provide tighter epidemiological monitoring of the epidemic. Their report, which appeared in a recent issue of Nature, also said the test can be used in slaughterhouses. Testers will have results within five hours. In a slaughterhouse you need to have results in 24 hours so as not to delay the processing and treatment of the carcasses, lead author Dr. Jean-Philip Deslys of the Service de Neurovirologie (Fontenay-aux-Roses, France) told Reuters Health.

The test is based on the detection of the abnormal prion protein, the only known molecular marker for BSE. The European Union, in an effort to combat BSE, is seeking to test all cattle older than 30 months. But the most sensitive test available, the mouse assay, which analyzes tissue from cow brains injected into mice that later develop symptoms of the disease, can take up to two years to complete, Deslys said, because of the disease’s slow incubation period.

The researchers evaluated four rapid detection tests that analyze for the protease-resistant form (PrP) of the prion. Deslys told Reuters the other three tests are not as sensitive and have become outdated. The study’s authors said their results showed the PrP-detection test offers assurance levels regarding the detection of infection that is comparable with the mouse bioassay.

Other countries are also nervous about the possibility of BSE outbreak. Indonesia, Thailand, Taiwan and Sri Lanka may become possible victims of mad cow disease after buying potentially tainted animal feed from Britain during its epidemic. Britain banned the feeding of animal carcasses to cattle in 1986, but exported much of its stock of feed to Europe and beyond until 1996, when the trade was ended.


Diagnostic Deals
photoQuest Diagnostics and ProDuct Health Inc., a provider of medical devices to fight breast cancer, announced that Quest is the first commercial reference lab to accept “ductal lavage” specimens for analysis. Ductal lavage is a procedure for collecting pre-cancerous and cancerous cells from milk ducts in the breast, the source of most breast cancer. The procedure is based on decades of research showing that most breast cancer begins in the cells lining the milk duct system of the breast. By collecting these cells directly from the milk ducts, the minimally invasive ductal lavage procedure functions somewhat like a Pap smear for the breast, allowing early detection of pre-malignant and malignant cells from their source of origin. Ductal lavage gives physicians and their patients additional information to make decisions about management and therapeutic options.

St. Louis-based GPO AmeriNet Inc. has signed a five-year agreement with Instrumentation Laboratory (IL) for blood gas analyzers. The agreement covers IL’s critical care testing instruments, consumables, service and information management products. Products include IL Synthesis, GEM Premier 3000 and IMPACT for Critical Care.

The GPO also has entered a three-year agreement with Medline Industries, the largest privately held manufacturer and distributor of healthcare sterilization products and supplies. The agreement covers sterilization containers and accessories, instrument detergents and disinfectants, sterilization pouches and monitoring products. AmeriNet also entered a three-year agreement with SPSmedical Supply Corp., the largest sterilizer-testing laboratory in North America, for sterility assurance products for its members. The agreement covers the Lantor Cube reusable Bowie-Dick Test Pack and the PassPort Plus immediate read-out Mail-In Sterilizer Monitoring Service.

New York-based Joint Purchasing Corp., a non-profit health service organization, has hired Andrew Janover as Senior Vice President of Contract Operations. Janover, who has more than 30 years experience in operations management, will be responsible for all contract operations except pharmacy. He served on the JPC Board of Directors for 30 years and as chairman for the last 10.

In addition, JPC’s Creative Source Concepts Inc. announced a new program that offers hospital pricing to management services organizations for FDA-approved laboratory testing products. The program ensures the lowest market pricing available for these products. The contract runs through January 2003 and gives firm pricing discounts for test kits.

In February Third Wave Technologies commenced an initial public offering of 7,500,000 shares of its common stock at $11 per share. The Nasdaq-traded stock is under the symbol, TWTI. Third Wave develops and sells DNA and RNA analysis products for use in genome research, pharmacogenomics and clinical applications.

Pall Corp. and Viragen Inc., have entered a development and licensing agreement to recover white blood cells (leukocytes) from blood filters. Pall’s proprietary technology will enable Viragen to efficiently remove and recover leukocytes from used leukoreduction filters. The goal is to provide additional sources of leukocytes for Viragen’s production of interferons for therapeutic use. Viragen’s lead product, Omniferon, a multisubtype alpha interferon, is currently in Phase II clinical trials in Europe for the treatment of hepatitis C. Omniferon is derived from while blood cells using Viragen’s unique manufacturing technology.

Bio-Rad Laboratories’ new Micromat II HbA1c platform for monitoring diabetes was selected for use in the Action to Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes (ACCORD) trial sponsored by The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (a division of the National Institutes of Health). The goal of the ACCORD trial is to address the challenge of reducing the rate of cardiovascular disease in patients with Type 2 diabetes. Glycemic control, as measured by blood glucose and hemoglobin A1c levels, is one of the three cardiovascular disease risk factors that will be assessed during the trial. HbA1c testing will be performed at approximately 60 clinical sites in the Unites States and Canada.

The Micromat II is a small, portable instrument designed for immediate HbA1c testing in physician’s office labs or small diabetes clinics. The result is available in about five minutes. Only 10 uL of capillary or venous blood is required for testing.

Spectral USA adds a new distributor for its U.S. customers in the Southeast and Southwest. Infolab Inc. is now distributing its Cardiac STATus rapid assay test, which allows laboratory and healthcare professionals to immediately risk stratify patients for acute coronary syndrome (ACS) in as little as three to five minutes. Infolab has been distributing clinical laboratory products for more than 30 years.

As a result of a recent collaboration, DNA extraction kits made by Biopool International will soon be available for use on Beckman Coulter laboratory automation systems. The kits, available from Beckman Coulter, will process whole blood for life science research. The five-year agreement gives Beckman Coulter exclusive, worldwide rights to distribute XTRANA’s proprietary Xtra Amp nucleic acid extraction kit for use with the company’s laboratory automation systems, including the Biomek brand laboratory automation workstations.

The extraction kits incorporate XTRANA’s proprietary Xtra Bind solid-phase nucleic acid extraction matrix, which provides for target amplification directly from nucleic acid bound to the solid phase surface. “One result of a growing emphasis on genomic research and SNP analysis is an increased demand for DNA purification,” said Jack Finney, vice president, bioresearch division, Beckman Coulter. “Our collaboration with XTRANA allows us to address this need with a powerful tool to extract DNA from whole blood on Beckman Coulter’s laboratory automation systems.”


Australian company unveils alternative device that helps relieve Pap smear pain
Investigators in Sydney said a new Australian Pap smear device could increase the number of women who undergo cervical cancer screening, leading to fewer women developing the cancer.

Researchers from the Sydney Centre for Reproductive Health surveyed 120 women, 60 of whom underwent testing with a conventional Pap smear device, and 60 with SSH Medical’s new Veda-Scope. According to the team, 94 percent of women thought the Veda-Scope was more comfortable than the traditional instrument. The new device, made by the Sydney-based SSH Medical, operates using a combination of air pressure and optical technology. Its four main components include a filtered air pump that inflates the vagina to view the cervix, a four-centimeter single-use speculum with a soft foam cup, a brush pushed into the speculum to take cell samples, and a fiber-optic head for illuminating the cervix.

The Veda-Scope was initially designed 10 years ago and is available for use in Sydney. Mike Houghton, SSH Medical CEO, told Reuters Health that international distribution of the device is expected at the end of the year. A full report by the SCRH researchers is to be published in the Australian and New Zealand Obstetrics and Gynaecology Journal.