(Press-News.org) Doctors at Dartmouth-Hitchcock's Norris Cotton Cancer Center (NCCC) have found a combination of drugs to potentially treat chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) more effectively. The research was published online on May 3, 2013, and it will appear as a letter in the journal Leukemia, a publication of the prestigious Nature Publishing Group. The study helps address a basic problem of treating CLL.
CLL lives both in the blood in circulation, and in lymph nodes and bone marrow. The former is relatively easy to kill, but the disease recurs because of resistant CLL cells in the lymph nodes and bone marrow. The researchers found an innovative drug combination that targets the stubborn CLL cells.
"We have been studying the mechanism in the cancer cells that causes the resistance to treatment," says Alan Eastman, the senior researcher on the team and a professor of pharmacology and toxicology at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, "and that in turn, led us to find drugs that target the resistance." Eastman led the team at Dartmouth-Hitchcock's Norris Cotton Cancer Center that also included Ryan Soderquist, Darcy Bates, and Alexey Danilov.
The researchers found a very effective drug combination of gossypol plus navitoclax to kill CLL cells. "Both drugs have been given to patients, but never in combination, because no one had the mechanistic rationale for doing that. Now we have what we think is the most promising drug combination so far for the treatment of CLL," says Eastman.
CLL cells in the lymph nodes have an increased level of a protein known as BCL-X. Gossypol likely inhibits this protein, which allows the navitoclax to work more effectively to kill the cancer cells. Eastman and his team tested this drug combination on CLL immediately after they came out of the patients.
The willingness of the patients to participate was integral to this study," Eastman adds. "After 40 years of research, I think this is the most promising idea I have had that might truly impact patient outcome." The researchers hope a clinical trial will soon follow.
###
This research direction was catalyzed by a Prouty pilot grant from NCCC and is now supported by a Translational Research Grant from the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. END
Leap in leukemia treatment reported by Dartmouth researchers
2013-05-14
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Circadian clock gene rhythms in brain altered in depression, UC Irvine Health study finds
2013-05-14
UC Irvine Health researchers have helped discover that genes controlling circadian clock rhythms are profoundly altered in the brains of people with severe depression. These clock genes regulate 24-hour circadian rhythms affecting hormonal, body temperature, sleep and behavioral patterns.
Depression is a serious disorder with a high risk for suicide affecting approximately one in 10 Americans, according to the Centers for Disease Control, and is ranked as fourth of all diseases by the World Health Organization in terms of lifetime disability. Study findings provide the ...
Binghamton researcher studies oldest fossil hominin ear bones ever recovered
2013-05-14
BINGHAMTON, NY– A new study, led by a Binghamton University anthropologist and published this week by the National Academy of Sciences, could shed new light on the earliest existence of humans. The study analyzed the tiny ear bones, the malleus, incus and stapes, from two species of early human ancestor in South Africa. The ear ossicles are the smallest bones in the human body and are among the rarest of human fossils recovered.
Unlike other bones of the skeleton, the ossicles are already fully formed and adult-sized at birth. This indicates that their size and shape ...
Most Michigan parents, grandparents prefer research hospitals for pediatric care
2013-05-14
ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Four out of five parents and grandparents in Michigan say they'd rather take children to a hospital that does medical research for children than one that does not, according to a new poll from the University of Michigan.
A new study from the Michigan Child Health Research Priorities team at C.S. Mott Children's Hospital found that more than 80 percent of parents and grandparents prefer a hospital that does medical research about children -- if they can expect the same level of care, the hospital is equally accessible and with no difference in cost.
The ...
Tumor-activated protein promotes cancer spread
2013-05-14
Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center report that cancers physically alter cells in the lymphatic system – a network of vessels that transports and stores immune cells throughout the body – to promote the spread of disease, a process called metastasis.
The findings are published in this week's online Early Edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Roughly 90 percent of all cancer deaths are due to metastasis – the disease spreading from the original tumor site to multiple, ...
New global study pinpoints main causes of childhood diarrheal diseases, suggests effective solutions
2013-05-14
Rachel Sam
rsam@globalhealthstrategies.com
212-929-7888 ext. 45
Global Health Strategies
New global study pinpoints main causes of childhood diarrheal diseases, suggests effective solutions
Findings published in The Lancet can guide prevention, treatment and research on diarrheal diseases, which claim the lives of 800,000 children annually
BALTIMORE, May 13, 2013 – A new international study published today in The Lancet provides the clearest picture yet of the impact and most common causes of diarrheal diseases, the second leading killer of young children ...
Digital mammography cancer detection rates may vary significantly
2013-05-14
OAK BROOK, Ill. – Digital direct radiography (DR) is significantly more effective than computed radiography (CR) at detecting breast cancer, according to a new study published online in the journal Radiology.
The findings are the first to show a difference between the two types of digital imaging when compared with screen film mammography and suggest that women should be informed of the potential for lower cancer detection with CR, the researchers said.
Digital mammography, which takes an electronic image of the breast that can be stored and sent electronically, has ...
Corals turn to algae for stored food when times get tough
2013-05-14
Researchers at EPFL present new evidence for the crucial role of algae in the survival of their coral hosts. Ultra-high resolution images reveal that the algae temporarily store nutrients as crystals, building up reserves for when supplies run low.
The relationship between corals and the microscopic algae they harbor is a classic example of biological symbiosis - the mutually beneficial interaction of two species. But crucial details regarding their relationship have remained elusive until now. Using state-of-the-art imaging techniques, Anders Meibom and his team of ...
Microbes capture, store, and release nitrogen to feed reef-building coral
2013-05-14
Microscopic algae that live within reef-forming corals scoop up available nitrogen, store the excess in crystal form, and slowly feed it to the coral as needed, according to a study published in mBio®, the online open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology. Scientists have known for years that these symbiotic microorganisms serve up nitrogen to their coral hosts, but this new study sheds light on the dynamics of the process and reveals that the algae have the ability to store excess nitrogen, a capability that could help corals cope in their chronically ...
The search for an early biomarker to fight atherosclerosis
2013-05-14
Montréal, May 14, 2013 – It's on Saturday that the Journal of the American Heart Association published the conclusive results from a study directed by Dr. Éric Thorin of the Montreal Heart Institute (MHI), which suggests for the first time that a blood protein contributes to the early development of atherosclerosis.
Dr. Thorin, his team and his collaborators discovered that the blood levels of angiopoietin-like protein 2 (angptl2) are six times higher in subjects with coronary heart disease than in healthy subjects of the same age. Their basic research study also revealed ...
Warrantless blood test case waits for U.S. Supreme Court's decision
2013-05-14
Warrantless blood test case waits for U.S. Supreme Court's decision
Article provided by Nicole A Longton
Visit us at http://www.longtonlaw.com
A recent decision by the United States Supreme Court could have a large impact on state laws relating to drunk driving. Many states, including Massachusetts, have what is known as an implied consent law. This law basically gives law enforcement the right to use blood tests or some other kind of test to determine drivers' blood alcohol content. The reasoning behind the law is that drivers have given their consent simply by ...