Cancer drugs : Clinical research updates

Researchers increasingly targeting cellular environments in cancer research.
NewYork Times reports that "more and more researchers are studying tumors in their cellular environments," a "major shift in thinking about why cancer occurs and how to stop it." The approach is rooted in the idea "that cancer cells cannot turn into a lethal tumor without the cooperation of other cells nearby," which implies that "cancer might be kept under control by preventing healthy cells around it from crumbling." Drugmakers are also "investigating the way some skin, ovarian, colon, and brain cancers signal surrounding cells to promote cancer growth." Dr. Barnett Kramer, associate director for disease prevention at the National Institutes of Health, noted, however, that such ideas are not new, pointing to a 1962 study in The Lancet that suggested "cancer may be a disorder of cellular organization."


Compugen confirms development of cancer treatment target.
Israeli drug developer Compugen Ltd. said that it has discovered a potential cancer treatment target using its RNA sequence technology." The company claims to have validated CGEN-671, which "can be used to better tailor treatments to target a wide range of cancers." According to Compugen's research, CGEN-671 "is expressed in more than 75 percent of colorectal and breast cancers, and 50 percent in lung cancers."

Teva seeks approval for copy of Amgen's Neupogen.
Teva Pharmaceutical "has tired of waiting for the U.S. government to establish a pathway for approval of generic versions of biologic drugs," and has instead decided to seek approval "for its copy of Amgen's Neupogen under the normal branded-drug process." Teva has recently submitted a Biologic License Application "for XM02, its copycat of Neupogen - a drug that stimulates the production of a type of white blood cells in cancer patients." However, "it doesn't mention having tested XM02 in acute myeloid leukemia or severe chronic neutropenia," and is "likely settling for fewer patients in exchange for a more restrictive label."

Synta Pharmaceuticals begins mid-stage trial of treatment for gastrointestinal stromal tumors.
Synta Pharmaceuticals Corp. Reported that it has started a mid-stage trial of a cancer drug candidate as a treatment for cancers of the digestive tract." The drugmaker will examine STA-9090 in patients with gastrointestinal stromal tumors "who have not responded to treatment with two other cancer drugs, Novartis AG's Gleevec [imatinib] and Pfizer Inc.'s Sutent [sunitinib]." The drug works by inhibiting a protein, Hsp90, which "activates other proteins that cancer cells need to grow.

Gefitinib may improve survival among lung cancer patients with EGFR mutations.
According to research appearing online Dec. 21 in Lancet Oncology, "Asian patients with lung cancer and epidermal growth-factor receptor (EGFR) mutations respond well to initial treatment with gefitinib." In a study of 177 patients, researchers found that "gefitinib conferred superior progression-free survival time vs. standard treatment with platinum-based combination chemotherapy." The study also showed that "the objective response rate in patients with measurable disease was significantly higher among patients receiving gefitinib," and "the disease control rate was also higher."

Findings may help researchers understand how cordycepin inhibits cancer cell growth.
According to findings published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, "scientists have discovered how a promising cancer drug, first discovered in a wild mushroom, works." Researchers found that the drug cordycepin "inhibits the uncontrolled growth and division of the cells" at low doses by interfering "with the production of mRNA, the molecule that gives instructions on how to assemble a protein." Meanwhile, "at high doses it stops cells from sticking together, which also inhibits growth." The results may help investigators determine which cancers may be treated with cordycepin.

Disclaimer : This information is for knowledge purpose only and should not be interpreted as medical advise.