Showing posts sorted by date for query paclitaxel. Sort by relevance Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by date for query paclitaxel. Sort by relevance Show all posts

Friday, October 7, 2022

Specific sequence of drugs reduces cost of treating metastatic breast cancer while preserving quality of life

The researchers developed three different computer models to predict how a hypothetical set of 10,000 patients with specific types of metastatic breast cancer would respond to different sequences and types of chemotherapy. For this study, the patient's cancer was either no longer responding to hormone therapies (endocrine resistant) or was a type of the disease called triple-negative breast cancer.

Currently, there are many chemotherapy choices to treat metastatic breast cancer. Oncologists have some preferences of which drugs to use early in treatment, but there is little clear evidence on the best order in which to give the drugs. The researchers consulted oncologists and experts in the field to choose which chemotherapy drugs were preferred choices to include in the study.

Mimicking clinical practice, and based upon existing data, the researchers then assumed that if a person started treatment with one drug, they would change to a second-choice treatment after their cancer stopped responding to the first drug, or if the side effects weren't tolerable. The purpose of the study was to test whether putting the drugs in one sequence compared to another could keep the patient on treatment for similar times while decreasing their side effect and/or cost burden.

"The cost of cancer drugs in the U.S. has rapidly increased, even for generics. As a society, we urgently need more strategies to reduce cancer drug costs without compromising outcomes, and our analysis provides quantifiable evidence to help providers choose lower priced, but equally effective sequences of drugs," said Stephanie B. Wheeler, PhD, MPH, professor of health policy & management at UNC Gillings and associate director of community outreach and engagement at UNC Lineberger and corresponding author of the article. "More spending on cancer care does not necessarily confer greater health benefits."

The costs calculated in this study were inclusive of medical and nonmedical costs borne by patients, including lost productivity. In this simulation, after two years, nearly all women would have completed the first three sets of treatment, but the cancer would cause the death of about one-third of the women. Productivity days lost due to sickness were similar across chemotherapy sequences, so most of the cost difference was due to drug savings. In the simulation, patients were placed in three groups, depending on what treatments they had already received for earlier episodes of breast cancer.

Outcomes in the three groups were:

  • For people who had not previously received the common chemotherapy drug categories, including a taxane (e.g., paclitaxel) or an anthracycline (e.g., capecitabine), treatment with paclitaxel then capecitabine followed by doxorubicin corresponded to the highest expected gains in quality of life and lowest costs.
  • For people who had previously received a taxane and an anthracycline drug, treatment with carboplatin, followed by capecitabine, followed by eribulin, corresponded to the highest expected gains in quality of life and lowest costs.
  • For people who had previously received a taxane but not an anthracycline, treatment sequences beginning with capecitabine or doxorubicin, followed by eribulin, were most cost-effective.

"The drugs we studied are already recommended and reimbursed for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer, but the optimal sequencing of them has been unclear, which has led to considerable variation in physician preference and practice. Our study suggests that treatment sequencing approaches that minimize costs early may improve the value of care," Wheeler said. "The implications of this study are fairly straightforward for medical oncologists and those developing value-based clinical pathways to implement in practice now."

UNC Lineberger's Katherine E. Reeder-Hayes, MD, MBA, MSc, section chief of breast oncology and associate professor of medicine at UNC School of Medicine and one of the study's authors, said the treatment choices for metastatic breast cancer are constantly changing, and new options for targeted therapy have emerged even since this study was conducted. "Many oncologists and patients find that there aren't any more targeted therapies that fit the cancer's molecular profiles, so they are left with the choice of a number of chemotherapy drugs that may feel pretty similar or have an unclear balance of pros and cons.

"In that scenario, I hope our study will help expand the framework that we use to make these decisions from one where we just think about the biologic action of the drug to one where we also consider the bigger picture of what the treatment experience is like for the patient, including their financial burden, investment of time, and side effects," Reeder-Hayes added. "The most potent drug isn't always the next best choice depending on what the patient values and wants to accomplish with their treatment."

Looking ahead, the researchers have developed a financial navigation program to further support patients in managing the out-of-pocket costs of their cancer care. This program has been effective and well received by patients, caregivers and providers. The team is currently scaling up the intervention in nine rural and non-rural oncology practices across North Carolina to understand how well it works in different care settings. Cancer patients who need financial support managing the cost of their cancer care are being recruited for this undertaking.

Ref : https://ascopubs.org/doi/10.1200/JCO.21.02473

Monday, February 20, 2017

Paclitaxel drug may promote cancer spread at low doses

In continuation of my update on paclitaxel

Taxol.svg

New research indicates that paclitaxel, which is the most commonly used chemotherapy for breast cancer, suppresses tumors when given at a certain dosage, but at low doses, it actually promotes cancer spread to the liver.

The findings suggest that lowering the dose of paclitaxel to reduce toxic side-effects is not a safe strategy.

"Paclitaxel and its analogous compounds are the first line agents widely used in clinical cancer chemotherapy. However, potential risks and reasonable treatment strategies of paclitaxel continue to be widely investigated," wrote the authors of The FEBS Journalstudy.

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/febs.13767/full

Wednesday, February 1, 2017

Rice University researchers synthesize new anti-cancer agent

Rice University scientists have synthesized a novel anti-cancer agent, Thailanstatin A, which was originally isolated from a bacterial species collected in Thailand.

Thailanstatin A.png 

Thailanstatin A


Thailanstatin A fights cancer by inhibiting the spliceosome, the machinery in the cell that edits messenger RNA after transcription from DNA but before its translation into proteins.
Rice synthetic chemist K.C. Nicolaou and his group reported their success in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

Nicolaou and his colleagues specialize in the synthesis of potential therapeutic agents that are found in nature but in amounts too small for thorough biological evaluation or clinical use. He is best known for the total synthesis of paclitaxel, a drug commonly used to treat a number of cancers.

The researchers explained that the spliceosome, a complex of proteins and ribonucleoproteins that regulate DNA splicing, is more active and displays higher mutation rates in cancer cells than in healthy cells, which makes it a valid target for investigation.


"This cellular machinery edits mRNA as it emerges from the transcription of DNA through site-specific removal of introns (noncoding regions of DNA) and splicing the remaining exon (coding) sequences prior to translation," Nicolaou said. "Thailanstatin A interferes with this mechanism."
He said the synthesis of Thailanstatin A, first isolated from burkholderia thailandensis bacteria, opens the way to construct and test variations of the molecule. "These studies will be directed toward optimization of the pharmacological properties of this new natural product as part of a drug discovery and development program targeting new therapies for cancer," Nicolaou said.

The program can take two directions, he said: one directed toward high-potency compounds that could be used as payloads for antibody drug conjugates and the other toward selective agents that can kill cancer cells with minimal damage to healthy cells.

The first paradigm is currently a frontier approach for the development of targeted and personalized cancer therapies, while the second represents a more traditional approach that could also lead to powerful anti-cancer drugs, Nicolaou said. "Thailanstatin A exhibits just the right potency to be diverted to either approach through a reiterative molecular design, chemical synthesis and biological evaluation process," he said.

"We're excited about this new molecule and its analogs because of their unique biological properties and the prospects of working collaboratively with industrial and academic partners to advance them toward the clinic," Nicolaou said.


Rice University researchers synthesize new anti-cancer agent

Wednesday, August 17, 2016

New drug combination before surgery may improve outcomes in breast cancer patients



Taxol.svg 
In continuation of my update on Paclitaxel 

Results from the I-SPY 2 trial show that giving patients with HER2-positive invasive breast cancer a combination of the drugs trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1) and pertuzumab before surgery was more beneficial than the combination of paclitaxel plus trastuzumab. Previous studies have shown that a combination of T-DM1 and pertuzumab is safe and effective against advanced, metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer, but in the new results, investigators tested whether the combination would also be effective if given earlier in the course of treatment. Results of the study are presented by trial investigators from the Abramson Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylvania at the AACR Annual Meeting 2016, April 16-20.
In this latest phase of the I-SPY2 trial, investigators worked to determine whether T-DM1 plus pertuzumab could eradicate residual disease (known as pathological complete response, or pCR) for more patients if delivered before surgery to shrink cancer tumors compared with paclitaxel plus trastuzumab. They also examined whether this combination could meet that goal without the need for patients to receive paclitaxel.
"The combination of T-DM1 and pertuzumab substantially reduced the amount of residual disease in the breast tissue and lymph nodes for all subgroups of HER2-positive breast cancers compared with those in the control group," said lead author, Angela DeMichele, MD, MSCE, a professor of Medicine and Epidemiology at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, who will present the findings. "Our results suggest a possible new treatment option for patients that can not only effectively shrink tumors in the breast, but potentially reduce the chance of the cancer coming back later. The results also show that by replacing older, non-targeted therapies with more effective and less-toxic new therapies, we have the potential to both improve outcomes and decrease side effects."
For the study, patients whose tumors were 2.5 cm or bigger were randomly assigned to 12 weekly cycles of paclitaxel plus trastuzumab (control) or T-DM1 plus pertuzumab (test). Following the initial test period, all patients received four cycles of the chemotherapies doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide, and surgery. Patients' tumors were then tested for one of three biomarker signatures: HER2-positive, HER2-positive and hormone receptor (HR)-positive, and HER2-positive and HR-negative.


New drug combination before surgery may improve outcomes in breast cancer patients: Results from the I-SPY 2 trial show that giving patients with HER2-positive invasive breast cancer a combination of the drugs trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1) and pertuzumab before surgery was more beneficial than the combination of paclitaxel plus trastuzumab.

Monday, February 1, 2016

Palbociclib and paclitaxel combination shrinks tumors in patient with ER positive breast cancer

Combining the new breast cancer drug palbociclib with paclitaxel (Taxol) shrank tumors in nearly half of patient with estrogen-receptor (ER) positive breast cancer, according to new research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. The results will be presented Saturday at the 2015 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (Abstract P6-13-08). A second study (Abstract P4-13-04), to be presented Friday provides new clues to how breast cancer develops resistance to the palbociclib, a common occurrence among many patients who take the drug.

"Results of the first study found that palbociclib and paclitaxel can be safely combined on an alternating dosing schedule," said Angela DeMichele, MD, MSCE, the Alan and Jill Miller Associate Professor in Breast Cancer Excellence in Penn's Abramson Cancer Center, and senior author on the study. "The high response rate we saw suggests this combination may hold benefits for patients over paclitaxel alone. Based on these results, a larger clinical trial to determine the benefits is warranted."

A Complementary Therapy

Palbociclib targets the rapid division of tumor cells by inhibiting the activity of the enzymes CDK4 and CDK6, which help drive cell division and are upregulated in most cancers. The researchers suspected that palbociclib's unique mechanism of action may make it a good partner for other breast cancer drugs such as paclitaxel, which kills dividing cells at a certain point in the cell division process (also known as the "cell cycle"). Palbociclib effectively halts the cell cycle before that point, and thus in principle can synchronize cancer cells in a way that makes them more vulnerable to a closely following dose of paclitaxel.

Tuesday, August 18, 2015

Combination therapy provides promising results in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer

An early phase study testing an anti-PDL1 agent in combination with standard chemotherapy in the treatment of advanced non-small cell lung cancer has provided promising early results, prompting multiple phase III studies in lung cancer. The findings are being presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).

In this phase 1b study, patients with untreated non-small cell lung cancer received one of three standard platinum-based chemotherapy regimens (paclitaxel/carboplatin, pemetrexed/carboplatin or nab-paclitaxel/carboplatin) with MPDL3280A, an antibody targeting PD-L1. Early results from the 

Taxol.svgPaclitaxel Carboplatin-skeletal.svgCarboplatin Pemetrexed.svgPemetrexed

first 37 patients showed impressive response rates between 60-75 percent, comparing favorably to historical outcomes with chemotherapy alone, where historical response rates from randomized trials are around 30 - 35 percent. In addition, two complete responses already have been documented, with no evidence of lung cancer on CT scans.

"A complete response is not typically seen in patients with stage IV lung cancer," says the abstract's lead author, Stephen V. Liu, MD, assistant professor of medicine at Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center. "And the response rates seen with MPDL3280A and chemotherapy were higher than one would expect with chemotherapy alone."

Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Carboplatin and paclitaxel show promise for advanced thymic carcinoma

In continuation of carboplatin and paclitaxel

A multicentre, phase II study of carboplatin and paclitaxel (CbP) in chemotherapy-naïve patients with advanced thymic carcinoma has shown that the treatment has promising efficacy compared with standard anthracycline-based chemotherapy.

Thymic carcinoma is very rare, and consequently it is hard to investigate it separately from thymoma. Previous studies evaluating chemotherapy regimens have included patients with both types of tumour, explain Takashi Seto (National Kyushu Cancer Center, Fukuoka, Japan) and colleagues.

Forty patients from 21 centres across Japan were enrolled in the current study from May 2008 until November 2010. One patient subsequently dropped out. The sample size was decided on the basis that it was large enough to reject the primary endpoint of an objective response rate (ORR) of 20%.

Wednesday, January 8, 2014

2 Pre-Surgery Drug Treatments Show Promise Against Aggressive Breast Cancer - Drugs.com MedNews

This pre-surgical drug therapy boosts the likelihood that no cancer cells will be found in breast tissue removed during either mastectomy or lumpectomy, according to two new studies.
The approach, called "neoadjuvant" chemotherapy, is being given to an increasing number of women with what's known as triple-negative breast cancer. Currently, the approach results in no identifiable cancer cells at mastectomy or lumpectomy in about-one third of patients, experts estimate. In such cases, the risk of a tumor recurrence becomes lower.
"Chemotherapy [before surgery] does work in triple-negative breast cancer. What we want to do is make it work better," said study researcher Dr. Hope Rugo.
Rugo is director of breast oncology and clinical trials education at the Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of California, San Francisco.
Triple-negative cancers have cells that lack receptors for the hormones estrogen and progesterone. In addition, they don't have an excess of the protein known as HER2 on the cell surfaces. So, treatments that work on the receptors and drugs that target HER2 don't work in these cancers.
In two new studies, researchers got better results by adding drugs to the standard chemo regimen prior to surgery. However, both studies are phase 2 trials, so more research is needed.
Both studies are due to be presented Friday at the annual San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.
Rugo compared standard neoadjuvant therapy -- paclitaxel (Taxol, others), doxorubicin (Adriamycin) and cyclophosphamide (Cytoxan, others) -- to standard therapy plus the drugs veliparib (investigational) and carboplatin (Paraplatin)....

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Two drugs in combination improve survival in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer

In continuation of my update on nab-paclitaxel (stands for nab-nanoparticle albumin-bound) and gemcitabine...

Investigators at the Vall d´Hebron University Hospital and the Vall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO), have participated in an international phase III study, published in The New England Journal of Medicine. Results show that administering these two drugs in combination significantly improves one- and two-year survival in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer versus gemcitabine alone, the first-line treatment or most standard approach for this type of cancer to date.
The new drug is set to become a reference in advanced pancreatic cancer treatment. A multicentre phase III study, with centers participating from 11 countries in North America, Europe and Australia, shows that the drug combination nab-paclitaxel and gemcitabine is more effective in the treatment of patients with advanced pancreatic cancer than gemcitabine alone, which has been the standard treatment for these patients up until now.

The clinical trial, sponsored by Celgene Corporation, involved 861 patients, half of whom were administered the nab-paclitaxel/gemcitabine combination, while the other half received gemcitabine alone. Median overall survival was 8.5 months for nab-paclitaxel/gemcitabine versus 6.7 months for gemcitabine alone. One-year survival rates were 35% and 22%, respectively, and two-year survival rates were 9% and 4%, respectively. Similar side effects were found in the new drug and gemcitabine alike. The trial report therefore concluded that the nab-paclitaxel/gemcitabine combination significantly improves overall survival and response rate in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer.

Sunday, January 27, 2013

Drug combination extends pancreatic cancer patient survival, study suggests

A multi-center Phase III clinical trial demonstrates that Abraxane (below left structure) (nab-paclitaxel) plus gemcitabine is the first combination of cancer drugs to extend survival of late-stage pancreatic cancer patients compared to standard treatment. Their findings show that Abraxane plus gemcitabine (below right structure) was well tolerated and resulted in clinically meaningful outcomes compared to gemcitabine alone, the current standard of care. 


MPACT is the largest phase III clinical trial completed in advanced pancreatic cancer with more than 800 patients. Findings from the study showed a 59 percent increase in one-year median survival rates from less than a quarter of the patients (22 percent) to more than a third (35 percent). The two-year survival rate for this cancer is negligible, less than 4 percent, but that more than doubles (9 percent) with the nab-paclitaxel/gemcitabine combination.

The study showed significant improvement among some of the sickest patients including those with increased metastases. Significantly there was no increase in life-threatening toxicity. Other drug combinations that have demonstrated benefit have been limited by increased toxicities.

"This is a major improvement in a cancer with the lowest survival rates among all cancer types," said Dr. Ramesh Ramanathan, medical director of Virginia G. Piper Cancer Center Clinical Trials at Scottsdale Healthcare and principal investigator for the clinical trial in the United States. "Advanced pancreatic cancer is fourth most common cause of cancer death in the United States and throughout the world. It is difficult to diagnose with a majority of the cases diagnosed at a late stage after the disease has already advanced."

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Results from Morphotek’s farletuzumab Phase III combination study on ovarian cancer

In continuation of my update on carboplatin and a taxane


Morphotek® Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Eisai Inc., announced top-line results from a Phase III study of its investigational agent farletuzumab (MORAb-003) in combination with carboplatin and a taxane in patients with platinum-sensitive epithelial ovarian cancer in first relapse. 

The study found that farletuzumab in combination with carboplatin and a taxane did not meet the study's primary endpoint of progression-free survival (PFS). The post hoc exploratory analysis showed, however, a trend toward improved PFS in some patient subsets and further analysis is ongoing.

The preliminary safety analysis indicated that the most commonly reported adverse events were those known to be associated with the study chemotherapy agents. Additionally, some immune-mediated events were observed with farletuzumab.

After further analysis of these clinical results, the company will determine a new development strategy based on discussion with external experts and relevant health authorities. In the double-blind, placebo-controlled study, 1,100 patients were enrolled to receive standard-of-care (carboplatin and a taxane [paclitaxel or docetaxel]) chemotherapy and were randomized to three parallel groups to receive one of two different dose levels of farletuzumab or placebo.

"While we are disappointed with these results, we know that ovarian cancer is a difficult disease to treat successfully," says Dr. Nicholas Nicolaides , President and CEO of Morphotek. "Morphotek remains committed to research to understand the potential role of farletuzumab in ovarian and other types of cancer."......


Sunday, March 25, 2012

Paclitaxel drug slows damage and symptoms in (Alzheimer's disease) animal model

A compound,  epothilone D (EpoD) that previously progressed to Phase II clinical trials for cancer treatment slows neurological damage and improves brain function in an animal model of Alzheimer's disease, according to a new study.  Compound is effective in preventing further neurological damage and improving cognitive performance in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The results establish how the drug might be used in early-stage AD patients......




Potential Alzheimer's disease drug slows damage and symptoms in animal model

Sunday, December 18, 2011

Geron Initiates Phase 2 Trial of GRN1005 in Brain Metastases from Breast Cancer

In continuation of my update on Paclitaxel and drug discovery....

Geron Corporation, announced the initiation of GRABM-B (GRN1005 Against Brain Metastases - Breast Cancer), a Phase 2 clinical trial to evaluate GRN1005 in patients with brain metastases arising from breast cancer. GRN1005 is the company's lead LRP-directed peptide-drug conjugate (LRP-directed PDC) that consists of the cytotoxic drug, paclitaxel, linked to a peptide (Angiopep-2) that targets the LRP receptor to cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and to target tumors in the brain.

The purpose of the Phase 2 study is to assess the efficacy, safety and tolerability of GRN1005 in patients with brain metastases from breast cancer. The trial is designed to include 100 patients with HER2 positive or HER2 negative metastatic breast cancer (MBC) disease, who will be assessed in two separate cohorts of 50 patients each.....


Ref : http://www.geron.com/media/pressview.aspx?id=1287

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Preclinical studies shows EmPAC more effective than Taxol

Cornerstone Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has announced the publication of data from preclinical studies on EmPAC™ (nanoparticle reformulation of paclitaxel). Company claims the data demonstrating improved safety and efficacy of EmPAC™ versus Taxol®, the generic formulation of paclitaxel and one of the most widely prescribed chemotherapies. EmPAC™ is a nanoemulsion formulation of Paclitaxel and is the lead product candidate of Cornerstone’s proprietary Emulsiphan™ cancer selective delivery nanotechnology platform. Taxol®, an injectable formulation of Paclitaxel, is currently used to treat a variety of cancers, including ovarian carcinomas, breast cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, and AIDS-related Kaposi’s sarcoma....

More : http://www.cornerstonepharma.com/wp-content/uploads/Empac-JNN-Release-FINAL-Sept_15_2011.pdf

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Capecitabine combination therapy reduces early breast cancer recurrence...

Capecitabine, is an orally-administered chemo therapeutic agent used in the treatment of metastatic breast and colorectal cancers.

Mode of action :

Capecitabine is a prodrug, that is enzymatically converted to 5-fluorouracil in the tumor, where it inhibits DNA synthesis and slows growth of tumor tissue. The activation of capecitabine follows a pathway with three enzymatic steps and two intermediary metabolites, 5'-deoxy-5-fluorocytidine (5'-DFCR) and 5'-deoxy-5-fluorouridine (5'-DFUR), to form 5-fluorouracil. Its being used (& FDA approved) in the treatment of adjuvant in colorectal cancer, metastatic colorectal cancer and Metastatic breast cancer - used in combination with docetaxel, after failure of anthracycline-based treatment. Also as monotherapy, if the patient has failed paclitaxel-based treatment, and if anthracycline-based treatment has either failed or cannot be continued for other reasons.

Recently, Finnish Breast Cancer Group and published in The Lancet Oncology shows women at intermediate to high-risk of early breast cancer recurrence who received capecitabine as part of their chemotherapy regimen had a 34% reduction in the risk of the disease returning or death, compared with those taking the chemotherapy combination regimen without capecitabin. The pre-planned three-year interim analysis of a randomised, prospective trial compared adjuvant capecitabine in combination with docetaxel and cyclophosphamide plus epirubicin for the treatment of early breast cancer with the standard, non-capecitabine regimen (docetaxel, epirubicin, cyclophosphamide and fluorouracil). The analysis also found that patients taking the capecitabine-containing regimen were significantly less likely to have their cancer spread (distant metastasis) to another part of the body (a 36% reduction in risk was observed). This is the first phase III randomised trial to report efficacy of capecitabine combination therapy in the adjuvant treatment of early breast cancer.

Though capecitabine, has already been shown to be effective in patients with advanced breast cancer, but the most important conclusion the researchers have arrived is "capecitabine-containing regimen in the early stages of breast cancer may offer survival benefits for women".....

Source :http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanonc/article/PIIS1470-2045%2809%2970307-9/fulltext

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Antisense drug in combination with paclitaxel for prostate cancer..

I think when I was doing some reference work for my research in 1996, I read about this drug (taxol) [In 1994 the total synthesis has been achieved by Robert Holton of Florida University. He did spend 12 years to achieve the total synthesis because of the assymmtery involved in it [It was after 40 years' after the first exctract from the tree Pacific yew (Taxus brevifolia) has shown anticancer activity and the key ingrediant identified was taxiol]. A diterpenoid, with androgen (a male hormone) blockade chemotherapy has played important role in the treatment of cancer.

Prostate cancer is the second most frequently diagnosed cancer in men after skin cancer. It is estimated there will be 218,890 new cases diagnosed in the U.S. this year(2009). Around 1 in 6 men will develop prostate cancer, a third to a half of whom will recur after local treatment and risk progression to metastatic prostate cancer. Metastatic disease invariably progresses to hormone refractory or castrate resistantprostate cancer (CRPC) if given enough time.

Prostate tumours are initially androgen (male sex hormone) dependent, and can be treated with androgen ablation therapy, however once the disease progresses to its most dangerous and aggressive form, CRPC, treatment options are limited and prognosis is poor. Treatment options depend on disease severity and include radiation and chemotherapy, which are designed to induce programmed cell death (apoptosis) of tumour cells. There is a pressing need for the development of new treatment options.

More interesting and significant results have been achieved by an Australian company (Antisense Therapeutics). i.e., in combination with taxol, antisense drug ATL1101 has yielded good results. ATL1101 is a second generation antisense inhibitor of the insulin-like growth factor-I receptor (IGF-IR) which as reported previously suppressed the growth of human prostate tumors in an animal model of prostate cancer, and slowed down transition to CRPC when used as a single agent.

The research is of great importance because of the fact that in cell culture experiments, the amount of Paclitaxel required to induce tumor cell apoptosis (cell death) was significantly reduced when used in combination with ATL1101. This ability to 'sensitize' tumor cells to the cytotoxic effects of Paclitaxel affirms ATL1101's potential as a chemo-sensitizing agent to be used in combination with existing prostate treatments to improve the outcomes for patients.

I did work for some of the intermediates (ologonucleotides) for ISIS (contract research) and am excited to see that this company has tie up with ISIS. In my opinion as ISIS , is an established company in this field of research, hope soon there will be relief for those patients for whom CRPC, treatment options are limited and prognosis is poor....

Ref: http://www.antisense.com.au/!upload_files%5Cattachment%5Casx%2009%2018%20June%202009_ATL1101.pdf