Asthma drug also targets leukemia

[Guest guest]

Dear Group,

Annie Bagett brought this article to my attention and thought I would share it

with you.

Research at The Laboratory has yielded a new approach to treating

leukemia, one that targets leukemia-proliferating cells with drugs that are

already on the market. Adjunct Professor Shaoguang Li, M.D., Ph.D., who

now has a laboratory at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in

Worcester, led a research team that identified a gene involved with the

inflammatory response that could hold the key to treating or even preventing

chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), a lethal cancer.

In research published in the journal Nature Genetics, the researchers also

showed that an asthma medication for human patients is an effective treatment

for CML in mice.

The gene, Alox5, processes essential fatty acids to leukotrienes, which are

important agents in the inflammatory response. But according to the researchers,

Alox5 has a more sinister side. It is vital to the development and maintenance

of cancer stem cells. Cancer stem cells are slow-dividing cells that are thought

to give rise to a variety of cancers, including leukemia, and to be critical for

maintaining them. Researchers theorize that cancer stem cells must be targeted

for effective treatment of many cancers, but direct evidence is still lacking.

Entire article may be viewed at this web site if you are interested:

http://esciencenews.com/articles/2009/06/07/a.lethal.cancer.knocked.down.one.two\

..drug.punch

FYI

Lottie