Summer/Fall 1984

... In Progress: Cancer

“The National Cancer Institute recently awarded a grant of $421,000 for support for three years of research being conducted by Dr. Sara Rockwell on the use of perfluorochemical emulsions as adjuncts to radiotherapy. The target for this research is improved treatment of those solid tumors which are resistant even to the best of current treatment. …

“In preliminary studies, Dr. Rockwell and her colleagues have found that infusing laboratory animals that have breast cancer or sarcomas with Fluosol and having them breathe oxygen before and during radiotherapy increases the number of tumor cells killed by radiation, but does not increase the toxicity of the radiation to the blood-forming cells of bone marrow. Further studies will examine the effect of Fluosol treatment on other tumors and other normal tissues, to evaluate whether this agent in combination with radiotherapy has the potential for effective treatment of solid tumors in humans.”