Gleevec Resistance with Math

[Guest guest]

WHAT'S IN THE WORKS, HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW YOUR MATH??????????

" Leukemia patients may be able to avoid developing resistance to the drug

Gleevec through a mathematical formula that predicts when they should receive an

immune-boosting vaccine, researchers said on Thursday. The approach, which

marries math and medicine, may help extend the effectiveness of the drug and may

even help cure some patients, they said. " The hope really is to get patients off

Gleevec ultimately, " said Dr. Lee of Stanford University School of

Medicine, a leukemia specialist who worked on the study. " It's very very early

days, but that is the hope. "

" Gleevec, or imatinib, a once-a-day pill made by Novartis, transformed treatment

of chronic myelogenous leukemia, or CML, because it is effective and easy to

use. Before its introduction in 2001, the five-year survival rate was 50

percent. That has jumped to 95 percent. But patients must stay on the drug

indefinitely, and the fear is that they may develop resistance to it, Lee said.

" The idea behind the new approach is to get the body's own immune system to take

over the fight against the cancer, said Doron Levy, a mathematician at the

University of land, whose study appears in Public Library Journal of Science

journal PLoS Computational Biology.

" The researchers developed a mathematical model based on immune responses of

people with CML who were taking Gleevec for four years. " We saw it has a certain

profile if you look at it over time, " Levy said in a telephone interview. When

first diagnosed, the immune system of CML patients is low, but as they begin to

respond to treatment, the immune system strengthens and starts to fight off the

cancer. As the drug continues to attack cancers cells, however, the body's

immune response falls. That is the ideal point for introducing a cancer vaccine,

Levy said.

" Using their model and information gathered from patients' blood, Levy and

colleagues think they can develop a personalized method of predicting when

patients might get the most benefit from a vaccine. " What you can try to do is

to boost the immune response when it needs it he most, " he said. " The timing is

the crucial issue. " The vaccine the researchers propose is an injection of the

patient's own blood taken when they are first diagnosed, but purged of any

cancer cells.

" You basically take the blood of the patient and introduce it back after you

kill everything in it, " Levy said. He said the body recognizes these dead cells

as foreign invaders, and starts to rev up the immune system. Levy said patients

would need monthly blood tests to monitor their immune systems and determine

when the time is right for vaccine. So far, the research is based on work on

patients' blood in the lab and on mathematical simulations, Levy said. But the

progress has been enough to win a five-year grant from the National Cancer

Institute to continue studying the approach. CML is relatively rare. In the

United States, it strikes about 4,600 people a year.

Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or

redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is

expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall

not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken

in reliance thereon.

http://www.caring4cancer.com/go/cml/news?NewsItemId=20080620elin022.xml

FYI,

Lottie

[Guest guest]

This is fascinating!

>

> From: lotajam@...

> Date: Sat, 27 Jun 2009 15:01:05 -0500

> Subject: [ ] Gleevec Resistance with Math

>

> WHAT'S IN THE WORKS, HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW YOUR MATH??????????

>

> " Leukemia patients may be able to avoid developing resistance to the drug

Gleevec through a mathematical formula that predicts when they should receive an

immune-boosting vaccine, researchers said on Thursday. The approach, which

marries math and medicine, may help extend the effectiveness of the drug and may

even help cure some patients, they said. " The hope really is to get patients off

Gleevec ultimately, " said Dr. Lee of Stanford University School of

Medicine, a leukemia specialist who worked on the study. " It's very very early

days, but that is the hope. "

> " Gleevec, or imatinib, a once-a-day pill made by Novartis, transformed

treatment of chronic myelogenous leukemia, or CML, because it is effective and

easy to use. Before its introduction in 2001, the five-year survival rate was 50

percent. That has jumped to 95 percent. But patients must stay on the drug

indefinitely, and the fear is that they may develop resistance to it, Lee said.

>

> " The idea behind the new approach is to get the body's own immune system to

take over the fight against the cancer, said Doron Levy, a mathematician at the

University of land, whose study appears in Public Library Journal of Science

journal PLoS Computational Biology.

>

> " The researchers developed a mathematical model based on immune responses of

people with CML who were taking Gleevec for four years. " We saw it has a certain

profile if you look at it over time, " Levy said in a telephone interview. When

first diagnosed, the immune system of CML patients is low, but as they begin to

respond to treatment, the immune system strengthens and starts to fight off the

cancer. As the drug continues to attack cancers cells, however, the body's

immune response falls. That is the ideal point for introducing a cancer vaccine,

Levy said.

>

> " Using their model and information gathered from patients' blood, Levy and

colleagues think they can develop a personalized method of predicting when

patients might get the most benefit from a vaccine. " What you can try to do is

to boost the immune response when it needs it he most, " he said. " The timing is

the crucial issue. " The vaccine the researchers propose is an injection of the

patient's own blood taken when they are first diagnosed, but purged of any

cancer cells.

>

> " You basically take the blood of the patient and introduce it back after you

kill everything in it, " Levy said. He said the body recognizes these dead cells

as foreign invaders, and starts to rev up the immune system. Levy said patients

would need monthly blood tests to monitor their immune systems and determine

when the time is right for vaccine. So far, the research is based on work on

patients' blood in the lab and on mathematical simulations, Levy said. But the

progress has been enough to win a five-year grant from the National Cancer

Institute to continue studying the approach. CML is relatively rare. In the

United States, it strikes about 4,600 people a year.

>

> Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or

redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is

expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall

not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken

in reliance thereon.

>

> http://www.caring4cancer.com/go/cml/news?NewsItemId=20080620elin022.xml

>

> FYI,

> Lottie

>

>

>