Exocrine glands are glands that release a secretion external to or at the surface of an organ by means of a canal or duct. Examples of exocrine glands include, among others, the mammary glands, prostate, liver, gall bladder, pancreas, kidneys, sweat glands, and salivary glands. Cancers of exocrine glands pose a major health problem, frequently resulting in death. Currently, cancers of the breast and prostate are among the leading causes of death among women and men, respectively.
The mature human breast comprises from six to nine major ducts, which emanate from the nipple, serially branch into ducts and terminate in lobuloalveolar structures (Russo et al., Lab. Invest. 62(3): 244–278 (1990)). This branching network of ducts is composed of epithelial cells in a supporting matrix of connective tissue and endothelial cells.
Tissues removed from the human female breast during surgery and autopsy have been examined in numerous studies directed to the nature and site of origin of neoplastic growth. Subgross sampling and histological confirmation have enabled pathological characterization of entire breasts, leading to the postulation of the existence of four major possible sites of origin of mammary carcinomas, namely ducts, terminal ducts, ductules, and acini (Russo et al., supra). Ductal origin is supported by the presence of more extensive epithelial proliferations, which are presumed to be preneoplastic, in surgically removed cancerous breasts as compared to nonmalignant breasts removed during autopsies (Russo et al., supra).
With a cumulative lifetime risk of a woman developing breast cancer estimated to be 1 in 9, there is an urgent need to develop therapeutic methods of treatment that are more effective, less invasive and accompanied by fewer side effects and prophylactic methods of treatment that are more effective than increased and intensified physical monitoring and far less extreme than radical mastectomy. In spite of the recent discovery of the heritable breast cancer susceptibility loci, BRCA1 (Miki et al., Science 266: 66–71 (1994)) and BRCA2, and other cancer susceptibility loci, and the increasing ability of physicians to identify women with elevated breast cancer risk, prophylactic methods are still currently limited to physical monitoring and prophylactic mastectomy.
In view of the above, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method of locally treating an exocrine gland prophylactically for disease. It is another object of the present invention to provide a method of locally treating an exocrine gland, in particular the mammary gland, prophylactically for cancer. Another object of the present invention is to provide a method of locally treating an exocrine gland therapeutically for disease. Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a method of locally treating a mammary gland therapeutically for cancer. Still yet another object of the present invention is to provide a method of locally treating a mammary gland both therapeutically and prophylactically for cancer. These and other objects and advantages, as well as additional inventive features, will become apparent from the detailed description provided herein.