GenoMed's Observation of Major Racial Difference in Prostate Cancer Confirmed

Main Category: Prostate / Prostate Cancer
Article Date: 28 Jul 2005 - 0:00 PDT

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GenoMed Inc announced today that it has received independent confirmation of an observation the Company orignally made in 2002 that prostate cancer behaves differently in white and black men. In black men, angiotensin II promotes prostate cancer, and ACE inhibitors are protective. But in white men, angiotensin II protects against prostate cancer, and ACE inhibitors promote prostate cancer.

In 2002, GenoMed published a surprising result: that activity of angiotensin I-converting enzyme was positively associated with prostate cancer and PSA levels in African American men, but inversely associated with prostate cancer and PSA levels in Caucasians (Moskowitz DW. Is angiotensin I-converting enzyme a "master" disease gene? Diabetes Technol Ther. 2002;4(5):683-711. Table 9, p. 697; PDF file available at: http://www.genomed.com/pdf/is.angiotensin.pdf). This was the first suggestion that ACE inhibitors, which block the production of angiotensin II, might protect black men against prostate cancer, but promote prostate cancer in white men.

This observation was confirmed in a subsequent paper published by GenoMed last summer (Moskowitz DW, Johnson FE. The central role of angiotensin I-converting enzyme in vertebrate pathophysiology. Curr Top Med Chem. 2004;4(13):1433-54), in which ACE inhibitors were found to increase the odds of prostate cancer in a predominantly white male veteran hospital population by a factor of 4.7 (Table 3). A "wiring diagram" for prostate cancer in white men was proposed (Figure 12, p. 1446; PDF file available at: genomed.com/pdf/ACE_vertebrate_pathophysiology.pdf).

GenoMed's surprising result was confirmed by Professor Marek Pawlikowski and his group at the University of Lodz in Poland in work published in late 2004, which GenoMed recently became aware of(medscimonit.com/pub/vol_10/no_11/4168.pdf).

Said Dr. David Moskowitz, GenoMed's CEO and Chief Medical Officer, "Dr. Pawlikowski's group used a prostate cancer cell line, DU-145, that was derived from a Caucasian male. They found in vitro exactly what we found in vivo using genomic epidemiologic and pharmacoepidemiologic data in human patient populations: angiotensin II surprisingly inhibited the growth of the Caucasian man's prostate cancer cells. The key test will be to see if they observe the opposite result with the CRL-2422 prostate cancer cell line, which is derived from an African American patient. Our data predict that ACE inhibitors will slow the growth of the CRL-2422 prostate cancer cells, and angiotensin II will promote it, which is what angiotensin II does to most cancer lines."

Added Dr. Moskowitz, "The public health message is quite clear: every white man on an ACE inhibitor should be more closely monitored for prostate cancer with a PSA level every 6-9 months. On the other hand, every black man with prostate cancer should consider taking an ACE inhibitor to slow down growth of the tumor."

About GenoMed

GenoMed, Inc. is a Next Generation DM(TM) company whose mission is to improve patient outcomes by identifying the molecular pathways that cause disease. A St. Louis Business Journal article (http://www.stlouis.bizjournals.com/stlouis/stories/2002/05/13/story8.html) first reported that the company applied for patents based on its finding that the ACE gene is associated with many common diseases. The company is currently marketing its protocols for preventing kidney failure due to diabetes and high blood pressure, and delaying the progression of emphysema. The company is also conducting free clinical trials for all cancers except prostate cancer in white men, as well as all viral diseases except herpes viruses. To enroll in GenoMed's free clinical trial for West Nile virus, simply click on the West Nile virus link at http://www.genomed.com

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains forward looking statements, including those statements pertaining to GenoMed, Inc.'s (the Company's) treatments. The words or phrases "ought to," "should," "may," or similar expressions are intended to identify "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward looking statements as a result of a number of risks and uncertainties. Statements made herein are as of the date of this press release and should not be relied upon as of any subsequent date. Unless otherwise required by applicable law, we specifically disclaim any obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect occurrences, developments, unanticipated events or circumstances after the date of such statement.

Contact:
David Moskowitz MD FACP
GenoMed, Inc.
dwmoskowitz@genomed.com
tel. 314-983-9933
genomed.com

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