Home About Products ProDermaCel™ DermX OralX Research Markets Contact News Publications	DermX, a topically applied pharmaceutical, will protect normal skin stem cells from radiotherapy and prevent the dermatitis (skin burn) that develops in the majority of cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy. The burn severity can range from mild inflammation (Grade 1) to severe necrosis (Grade 4). The majority of human radiotherapy patients will develop a Grade 2 or worse radiodermatitis as a result of their therapy. Many clinical studies (e.g., Fenig et al., Oncology Reports 8:305-309, 2001; Olsen et al., Oncology Nursing Forum 28:543-547, 2001) have described the negative impact of radiotherapy-induced dermatitis on cancer patients during and after their 5-6 week course of radiotherapy. The most difficult choice for cancer patients with severe radiodermatitis is whether to miss one or more radiotherapy days and thus create a "treatment gap." Regarding treatment gaps, Hendry et al. said "there is much evidence for the detrimental effect on tumor control of missed treatment days during radiotherapy, amounting to approximately a 1.6% increase in local tumor recurrence per [missed] day of treatment in the case of head and neck squamous cell cancer" (Hendry et al., Clin. Oncology 8:297-307, 1996). There are currently no products to prevent or treat radiodermatitis. Radiation causes skin (epidermis) stem cells to undergo apoptosis through a series of molecular ionizing events resulting in damage to cellular DNA and eventual stem cell death. DermX enables epidermal stem cell survival within the skin following radiotherapy and maintenance of an intact layer of skin at the irradiation site. Product Specifications: DermX is formulated as a clear, colorless, odorless liquid that rapidly penetrates the skin leaving no residue. In animal model experiments (see insert) DermX has prevented Grade I through Grade 4 dermatitis in skin patches that received 0.7 MeV to 6 MeV x-rays as little as three minutes after being treated with DermX.