Cancer drug can treat CML

[Guest guest]

August 4, 2010.............

The clinical development program follows previously conducted Phase I and Phase

II trials of Thiarabine in solid tumors, where myelosuppression (decrease in the

production of blood cells), particularly lymphopenia (abnormally low white blood

cell levels) was dose limiting. Access believes an agent that produces

significant lymphopenia can be a strong active against lymphoproliferative

disorders like acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), chronic myelogenous leukemia

(CML), myeloma and lymphoma. " We are pleased to have Dr. Kantarjian lead our

continued clinical development of Thiarabine, " said Nowotnik, Access

Pharmaceuticals, Inc.'s Senior Vice President for R & D. He continued, " The

findings in preclinical and clinical studies to this point have given us a

strong indicator that Thiarabine could be highly beneficial in treating patients

with hematologic malignancies. The new Phase I/II trial at MD , one of

the country's leading cancer centers, is the next step in our comprehensive plan

to build on the strong set of data and clinical results that have been generated

to date on Thiarabine. "

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/196747.php

Thiarabine Fact Sheet...........

" Thiarabine exhibited significant activity, including regressions or cures, in

six tested leukemia or lymphoma cell lines. The compound produced better

activity than ara-C or a fatty acid-modified ara-C (depot) analog in four of six

tested models. Thiarabine also performed as well or better than clofarabine and

gemcitabine in each of the models.

" Unlike ara-C, thiarabine was found to be active in a wide variety of solid

tumor xenograft models (14 different cell lines), including colorectal, lung,

renal, prostate, breast and pancreatic tumors, mainly via intraperitoneal

administration (one model was done iv). Thiarabine produced regressions or

tumor-free survivors in about half of the models and exhibited better activity

than gemcitabine or clofarabine in many models. Thiarabine activity was also

better than that of paclitaxel or cisplatin in certain lung models. An increase

in regression or cure rate over either compound alone was observed with

combinations of thiarabine and cisplatin in lung tumors, thiarabine and

irinotecan or clofarabine in colorectal tumors, and thiarabine plus clofarabine

in a leukemia model. "

http://www.accesspharma.com/product-programs/thiarabine/

(posted to their website in 2009)

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July 29, 2010 (Written by )

American Association for Cancer Research

" At the Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine, Yusuke Ohba, M.D.,

Ph.D., an associate professor, and colleagues tested the feasibility of a

fluorescence resonance energy transfer biosensor in measuring the activity of

leukemia cells. " Using this test, we are now able to identify and predict the

most suitable treatment option for individual chronic myeloid leukemia

patients, " said Ohba. " This technique is both sensitive and practical to use; it

is especially useful for patients who are in relapse, a case in which the

clinician's important decision regarding the next step in treatment must be made

quickly and accurately. "

" Working with laboratory cells, the researchers developed a series of assays

that measured protein levels and known activity markers within CML lines. Using

these measurements, they were able to identify not only the drug-resistant cells

within the cultures, but also accurately determine the next therapeutic option,

including dose escalation, combination therapy or second generation inhibitors.

" The most critical issue in dealing with imatinib resistance is what to switch

over to, " said Ohba. " If the patient is switched to another drug to which they

are also resistant, then the treatment will just be a waste of time and

detrimental to the patient's condition. " In an accompanying editorial also

published in Clinical Cancer Research, Yingxiao Wang, Ph.D., an assistant

professor in the bioengineering department at the University of Illinois

Urbana-Champaign, said this study is a " pioneer work. "

" The entire cancer community is talking about personalized medicine, and key to

that is knowing when an individual person will have a unique response, " said

Wang. " This project is an important step forward. " The trial was funded by the

Japanese government, and none of the authors had a conflict of interest. The

test is not available clinically in the United States.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/196176.php

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July 20, 2010 - Written by Kim Irwin

University of California - Los Angeles

" Scientists at the UCLA Broad Stem Cell Research Center have described a

population of cells that mark the very first stage of differentiation of human

embryonic stem cells as they enter a developmental pathway that leads to

production of blood, heart muscle, blood vessels and bone. Researchers hope that

these cells could one day be used for clinical treatments of a wide range of

medical conditions as the discovery may help scientists create better and safer

tissues for use in regenerative medicine. It also will allow scientists to

better understand the differences between pluripotent stem cells, which can

become every cell in the body, and cells that have lost their pluripotency and

are on their way to becoming specific types of tissue cells. The study appears

in the early online edition of the peer-reviewed journal Proceedings of the

National Academy of Sciences. "

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/195455.php

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BCR/ABL1 Quant Test (July 14,2010) This is a trade marked manufactured drug test

by Asuragen. (Drug standardization tests)

" Asuragen, Inc. and Life Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ: LIFE) announced that

they have achieved CE-marking and commercial launch in Europe of the BCR/ABL1

Quant Test, Asuragen's clinically validated and cGMP manufactured test intended

to aid clinicians in the monitoring and treatment of individuals afflicted with

chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). Asuragen manufacturers the monitoring test,

which is exclusively distributed by Life Technologies and runs on the company's

Applied Biosystems CE-marked 7500 Fast Dx Real-Time PCR Instrument.

" The CE-marked BCR/ABL1 Quant Test for leukemia progression is a quantitative in

vitro diagnostic test to help doctors determine the most effective treatment

options for CML. The test monitors the BCR-ABL1 to ABL1 ratio by reverse

transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) on whole blood or

bone marrow of diagnosed Philadelphia chromosome positive chronic myeloid

leukemia (CML) patients expressing b2a2, b3a2 or e1a2 fusion transcripts. The

test is intended as an aid in the assessment of complete cytogenetic response

(CCyR), major molecular response (MMR), minimal residual disease and relapse in

CML patients.

" The BCR/ABL1 Quant Test provides several advantages over current methods by

enabling multiplex detection of all targets in a single reaction and providing

unmatched standardization through the use of our proprietary Armored RNA Quant®

technology for external calibrators and process controls, " said Rollie Carlson,

President of Asuragen. "

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/194588.php

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FYI,

Lottie Duthu