More Evidence for Oxaliplatin as Colon Cancer Chemotherapy

In continuation of my update on Oxaliplatin 

Adding oxaliplatin to a standard chemotherapy regimen boosts survival rates for patients with advanced colon cancer, according to a new study that bolsters previous research on the drug by looking at a broader group of patients.

In past studies, oxaliplatin, as an adjuvant to the established treatment of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), improved survival by up to 23 percent. But the new study looked at a different group of colon cancer patients, who were older, sicker, more racially diverse and had never participated in a controlled clinical study.

To determine whether oxaliplatin would show a similar benefit among a "real-world" population of patients, the authors sifted through five cancer registries containing survival information on more than 4,000 people with stage 3 colon cancer. All were younger than 75, and all had begun chemotherapy -- either a standard regimen or in combination with oxaliplatin -- within four months of having surgery between 2004 and 2009.

Researchers lead by Dr.Hanna K. Sanoff compared their survival rates with those of nearly 8,300 patients who had participated in one of five different clinical trials using oxaliplatin.

The addition of oxaliplatin to standard chemotherapy protocols was found to be just as effective in prolonging survival among the community-based set of patients - including the elderly, minorities and those with additional complicating health issues  who were not enrolled in studies.

More....

Picoplatin a better drug than oxaliplatin for colorectal cancer !

In one of my earlier blog, I did mention about the Cisplatin (Cisplatin doubles lung cancer survival time in mice !).

About Cis-platin & other drivatives:

Cisplatin, cisplatinum, or cis-diamminedichloroplatinum(II) is a platinum-based chemotherapy drug used to treat various types of cancers, (sarcomas, some carcinomas (small cell lung cancer, and ovarian cancer), lymphomas, and germ cell tumors. It was the first member of a class of anti-cancer drugs which now also includes carboplatin and oxaliplatin. These platinum complexes react in vivo, binding to and causing crosslinking of DNA which ultimately triggers apoptosis (programmed cell death).

Now its the turn of Picoplatin [see structure , Amminedichloro(2-methylpyridine)platinium)], Poniard Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has come up with some interesting results from its Phase 2 trial of picoplatin in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC). Picoplatin, given once every four weeks in combination with 5-fluorouracil and leucovorin in the FOLPI regimen, has comparable efficacy to oxaliplatin, given in combination with 5-fluorouracil and leucovorin in the modified FOLFOX-6 regimen, as a first-line therapy for CRC, as assessed by one-year survival rate, progression-free survival (PFS) and disease control. The company claims that, (from the updated proof-of-concept Phase 2 safety and efficacy results) picoplatin could be superior to oxaliplatin as a neuropathy-sparing alternative when used in combination as a first-line treatment for metastatic colorectal cancer.

Source : http://investor.poniard.com/ReleaseDetail.cfm?ReleaseID=424813.

Positive results from Phase 2 trial of picoplatin for colorectal cancer...

In continuation of my update on picoplatin,.......

Poniard Pharmaceuticals, Inc,  claims that Phase 2 trial  study met its primary objective, that is picoplatin in combination with 5-fluorouracil and leucovorin (FOLPI regimen) was associated with a statistically significant reduction in neurotoxicity (p <0.004) compared to oxaliplatin given in combination with 5-fluorouracil and leucovorin (FOLFOX regimen). More...

New drug candidate shows promise against cancer - MIT Media Relations

Drugs containing platinum are among the most powerful and widely used cancer drugs. However, such drugs have toxic side effects, and cancer cells can eventually become resistant to them. Stephen J Lippard, Chemistry Professor, MIT who has spent much of his career studying platinum drugs, has now identified a compound that kills cancer cells better than cisplatin, the most commonly used platinum anticancer drug. The new compound may be able to evade cancer-cell resistance to conventional platinum compounds.

“I’ve long believed that there’s something special about platinum and its ability to treat cancer. Using new variants, we might have a chance of applying platinum to a broader range of cancer types, more successfully,” said Lippard. Lippard is senior author of a paper describing the new drug candidate, known as phenanthriplatin - which is cis-[Pt(NH₃)₂(phenanthridine)Cl]NO_3.

A trial looking at curcumin and FOLFOX for advanced bowel cancer (CUFOX)

In continuation of  my update on curcumin

An upcoming clinical trial conducted by the Cancer Research UK and National Institute for Health Research Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre (ECMC) in Leicester, England will evaluate the effectiveness of curcumin, a compound that occurs in turmeric, as a means of improving the results of standard chemotherapy for metastatic colon cancer. The compound has been found to enhance chemotherapy's ability to kill colon cancer cells in previous research involving cell cultures. 

Doctors often treat bowel cancer that has spread with chemotherapy. The combination of chemotherapy they usually use is called FOLFOX. It is made up of the drugs folinic acid (leucovorin), fluorouracil (5FU) and oxaliplatin. But this doesn’t always work very well.  And it often causes side-effects such as numbness and tingling in hands and feet (peripheral neuropathy). This means the doctors sometimes need to lower the dose or even stop chemotherapy, so they are keen to improve treatment.

Curcumin is a plant extract found in the spice turmeric and is found in many everyday foods. We know from research that curcumin can help shrink tumours in the laboratory. It has also been used in several studies involving patients with a range of conditions, including cancer.