Findings Presented at the Society of Surgical Oncology Annual Cancer Symposium

Northfield Laboratories Inc. (Nasdaq: NFLD) announced today that researchers from the University of Colorado at Denver / Denver Health Medical Center, Bonfils Blood Center in Denver, and University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas have demonstrated that the use of Northfield’s human polymerized hemoglobin (PolyHeme^®) significantly reduces metastases and primary tumor growth in a mouse model of pancreatic cancer. The authors suggest that the use of PolyHeme in lieu of red blood cells may prolong survival in patients with pancreatic cancer who require transfusions. The research is being presented by Carlton C. Barnett, M.D., Director of Surgical Oncology at Denver Health Medical Center, at the Society of Surgical Oncology 62^nd Annual Cancer Symposium, which begins today and continues through Saturday in Phoenix, AZ.

As many as 80% of patients undergoing operation for pancreatic cancer receive perioperative red blood cell transfusion. The literature describes an association with decreased survival in these transfusion recipients. Ernest E. “Gene” Moore, M.D., and colleagues previously demonstrated that the plasma fraction of stored red blood cells contains biologically active factors that cause immune dysfunction. Furthermore, they demonstrated that PolyHeme is devoid of these factors and attenuates the observed immune dysfunction. Dr. Barnett and his colleagues have determined that elevations of some of these factors have been associated with primary tumor progression and decreased survival in a mouse model of pancreatic cancer. Based upon these findings, they hypothesized that infusion of PolyHeme in lieu of red blood cells might mitigate the adverse affects of blood transfusion on pancreatic cancer progression.

This study compared the outcome of treatment with PolyHeme or plasma from stored red blood cells in a mouse model of pancreatic cancer. PolyHeme did not demonstrate the elevated levels of biologically active factors observed in the plasma from stored red blood cells. Furthermore, metastases and primary tumor growth were significantly reduced in animals receiving PolyHeme compared to animals receiving plasma from stored red blood cells.