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UK Trial for the BRAC gene OVCA
North-East pioneers new drug for cancer
By Barry Nelson
SCIENTISTS in the region have made a major drugs breakthrough that could save the lives of thousands of women with inherited forms of breast and ovarian cancer.
Cancer Research UK scientists at the Northern Institute for Cancer Research, at Newcastle University, have developed a revolutionary drug that kills cancer cells by disabling their repair mechanism.
There are hopes the drug could stop cancer in its tracks - and even ensure that women with a family history of the disease never develop it.
The drug's development is the culmination of nearly 20 years of work by international cancer drug expert Professor Hilary Calvert, who came to Newcastle University in 1990 to work on the concept.
He told The Northern Echo: "This is a very exciting moment for me because it is the culmination of many years of developing new drugs in Newcastle."
He said its potential was "quite remarkable".
It has already been shown to work in the laboratory, but now scientists want to see if it works with patients.
Breast cancer sufferer Amanda Monaghan, 36, from West Allotment, North Tyneside, who lost her mother to an inherited form of cancer and carries the same defective gene, said the drug gave women hope.
She said it could be a "huge safety net" for patients who had failed to respond to chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
The scientists revealed yesterday that clinical trials with the drug - known as AG014699 - have already begun with North-East patients.
More patients will be recruited to the drug's first clinical trial, funded by Cancer Research UK.
The drug works by knocking out a key DNA repair mechanism in cancer cells.
It does this by blocking the action of an important enzyme involved in DNA repair, known as Parp (poly ADP-ribose polymerase), and is part of a class of new anti-cancer drugs known as Parp inhibitors.
Dr Ruth Plummer, a senior lecturer in medical oncology and the chief investigator on the trial, said: "People who inherit faults in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes have a 50 to 80 per cent chance of developing cancer.
"Currently, women with hereditary forms of breast and ovarian cancer are treated in the same way as every other woman who develops the disease.
"We hope this trial will show that by using the Parp inhibitor we can offer them more targeted treatment."
Mutations in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes are responsible for about five per cent of the 44,000 cases of breast cancer diagnosed annually in the UK, and for more than five per cent of the 6,615 cases of ovarian cancer.
The clinical trial at Newcastle is likely to take 18 months to complete.
There are plans to extend it to centres around the UK and researchers aim to recruit up to 56 women.
Professor Herbie Newell, Cancer Research UK's executive director of clinical and translational research, said: "The start of this clinical trial is a very exciting development and we look forward to seeing the results."
By Barry Nelson
SCIENTISTS in the region have made a major drugs breakthrough that could save the lives of thousands of women with inherited forms of breast and ovarian cancer.
Cancer Research UK scientists at the Northern Institute for Cancer Research, at Newcastle University, have developed a revolutionary drug that kills cancer cells by disabling their repair mechanism.
There are hopes the drug could stop cancer in its tracks - and even ensure that women with a family history of the disease never develop it.
The drug's development is the culmination of nearly 20 years of work by international cancer drug expert Professor Hilary Calvert, who came to Newcastle University in 1990 to work on the concept.
He told The Northern Echo: "This is a very exciting moment for me because it is the culmination of many years of developing new drugs in Newcastle."
He said its potential was "quite remarkable".
It has already been shown to work in the laboratory, but now scientists want to see if it works with patients.
Breast cancer sufferer Amanda Monaghan, 36, from West Allotment, North Tyneside, who lost her mother to an inherited form of cancer and carries the same defective gene, said the drug gave women hope.
She said it could be a "huge safety net" for patients who had failed to respond to chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
The scientists revealed yesterday that clinical trials with the drug - known as AG014699 - have already begun with North-East patients.
More patients will be recruited to the drug's first clinical trial, funded by Cancer Research UK.
The drug works by knocking out a key DNA repair mechanism in cancer cells.
It does this by blocking the action of an important enzyme involved in DNA repair, known as Parp (poly ADP-ribose polymerase), and is part of a class of new anti-cancer drugs known as Parp inhibitors.
Dr Ruth Plummer, a senior lecturer in medical oncology and the chief investigator on the trial, said: "People who inherit faults in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes have a 50 to 80 per cent chance of developing cancer.
"Currently, women with hereditary forms of breast and ovarian cancer are treated in the same way as every other woman who develops the disease.
"We hope this trial will show that by using the Parp inhibitor we can offer them more targeted treatment."
Mutations in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes are responsible for about five per cent of the 44,000 cases of breast cancer diagnosed annually in the UK, and for more than five per cent of the 6,615 cases of ovarian cancer.
The clinical trial at Newcastle is likely to take 18 months to complete.
There are plans to extend it to centres around the UK and researchers aim to recruit up to 56 women.
Professor Herbie Newell, Cancer Research UK's executive director of clinical and translational research, said: "The start of this clinical trial is a very exciting development and we look forward to seeing the results."
Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Ovarian cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer death in women, but that may be changing -- a new therapy targeting a protein that causes tumors to grow may offer hope for this deadly disease.
Scientists say the protein interleukin-8 (IL-8) promotes ovarian tumor growth. In a recent study, researchers found 42.16 percent of ovarian tumors had a high level of the protein. Now, researchers are testing siRNA, also known as a silencing RNA, to target the gene that produces IL-8.
When siRNA was injected into mice with two lines of ovarian cancer, tumors reduced by a median of 32 percent and 52 percent in the two cancer lines. When mice were given both siRNA and docetaxel, a platinum-based chemotherapy drug, tumors reduced by a median of 90 percent and 98 percent.
This therapy also worked on a type of ovarian cancer known to be resistant to drugs like docetaxel. When siRNA alone was injected into these mice, tumors shrunk 47 percent. But adding docetaxel resulted in a 77 percent reduction. This suggests that the combination makes these once resistant tumors responsive again.
“This comprehensive analysis -- with human data, animal data and lab experiments to highlight the molecular mechanisms involved -- helps us develop the new targets needed for a more effective approach against ovarian cancer,” Anil Sood, M.D., study author and professor in the M.D. Anderson Departments of Gynecologic Oncology and Cancer Biology, was quoted as saying.
SOURCE: Journal of the National Cancer Institute, published online on February 26, 2008, doi:10.1093/jnci/djn024, and The National Cancer Institute
Scientists say the protein interleukin-8 (IL-8) promotes ovarian tumor growth. In a recent study, researchers found 42.16 percent of ovarian tumors had a high level of the protein. Now, researchers are testing siRNA, also known as a silencing RNA, to target the gene that produces IL-8.
When siRNA was injected into mice with two lines of ovarian cancer, tumors reduced by a median of 32 percent and 52 percent in the two cancer lines. When mice were given both siRNA and docetaxel, a platinum-based chemotherapy drug, tumors reduced by a median of 90 percent and 98 percent.
This therapy also worked on a type of ovarian cancer known to be resistant to drugs like docetaxel. When siRNA alone was injected into these mice, tumors shrunk 47 percent. But adding docetaxel resulted in a 77 percent reduction. This suggests that the combination makes these once resistant tumors responsive again.
“This comprehensive analysis -- with human data, animal data and lab experiments to highlight the molecular mechanisms involved -- helps us develop the new targets needed for a more effective approach against ovarian cancer,” Anil Sood, M.D., study author and professor in the M.D. Anderson Departments of Gynecologic Oncology and Cancer Biology, was quoted as saying.
SOURCE: Journal of the National Cancer Institute, published online on February 26, 2008, doi:10.1093/jnci/djn024, and The National Cancer Institute
tacking this on here cause didn't want to start a new thread
NEW YORK FEB 28, 2008 (Reuters Health) - The addition of thalidomide to topotecan appears to improve treatment response rates of recurrent epithelial ovarian carcinoma, according to the results of a phase II trial.
Because both agents have antiangiogenic properties, the combination of the two might be more effective than topotecan alone, Dr. Levi S. Downs Jr., of the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis and associates speculated.
To investigate further, the researchers studied 69 patients who had received prior platinum-based chemotherapy. The patients were given therapy with topotecan on days 1 through 5 of a 21-day cycle and randomized to receive or not receive thalidomide starting at 200 mg per day. The findings appear in the January 15th issue of Cancer.
After a median of six complete treatment cycles, 47% of the thalidomide group showed a response compared to 21% of the control patients. A complete response was seen in 30% of the thalidomide group and 18% of controls (p = 0.03 for both).
Progression-free survival averaged 6 months in the thalidomide group and 4 months in the controls. Corresponding values for overall survival were 19 months and 15 months.
The researchers call for further studies and note that the results "suggest that immune modulators and antiangiogenic agents may be useful therapeutically and should be studied in women with recurrent ovarian cancer in combination with traditional cytotoxic chemotherapy."
"What all of this means," Dr. Downs told Reuters Health, "is that while thalidomide may not cure ovarian cancer, it may broaden the treatment options available to physicians and provide more hope to women diagnosed with the cancer."
NEW YORK FEB 28, 2008 (Reuters Health) - The addition of thalidomide to topotecan appears to improve treatment response rates of recurrent epithelial ovarian carcinoma, according to the results of a phase II trial.
Because both agents have antiangiogenic properties, the combination of the two might be more effective than topotecan alone, Dr. Levi S. Downs Jr., of the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis and associates speculated.
To investigate further, the researchers studied 69 patients who had received prior platinum-based chemotherapy. The patients were given therapy with topotecan on days 1 through 5 of a 21-day cycle and randomized to receive or not receive thalidomide starting at 200 mg per day. The findings appear in the January 15th issue of Cancer.
After a median of six complete treatment cycles, 47% of the thalidomide group showed a response compared to 21% of the control patients. A complete response was seen in 30% of the thalidomide group and 18% of controls (p = 0.03 for both).
Progression-free survival averaged 6 months in the thalidomide group and 4 months in the controls. Corresponding values for overall survival were 19 months and 15 months.
The researchers call for further studies and note that the results "suggest that immune modulators and antiangiogenic agents may be useful therapeutically and should be studied in women with recurrent ovarian cancer in combination with traditional cytotoxic chemotherapy."
"What all of this means," Dr. Downs told Reuters Health, "is that while thalidomide may not cure ovarian cancer, it may broaden the treatment options available to physicians and provide more hope to women diagnosed with the cancer."
I would think that by contacting Northern Institute for Cancer research at Newcastle University should get you some answers
This is wonderful! Where can we learn more about this? I wonder if they'll take survivors, too...
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