Stephen Howell, MD
University of California San Diego
Dendrimer-folate targeting of paclitaxel to ovarian cancer
Paclitaxel is used extensively for the treatment of ovarian cancer. The overall goal of this project is to test the efficacy and toxicity of a novel paclitaxel drug delivery system, capable of selectively targeting ovarian cancers and thereby increasing tumor cell kill without enhancing toxicity. Dr. Howell has developed a unique dendrimer that can carry paclitaxel and can be loaded with folates so that it binds very tightly to the folate receptors that are present in large amounts in most ovarian cancers, thus increasing the amount of drug that gets into the tumor.