Terra med Alliance News: Two genes, each one of which is known to cause cancer on its own, together can lead to aggressive leukemia. This is the conclusion from new research carried out on gene-modified mice at the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. The discovery has surprised scientists, and may lead to new treatments.

Terra med Alliance News: The two genes are often present in mutated form in acute leukemias, but the mutations rarely occur together. Scientists have previously believed that the two mutated genes have exactly the same function: each one alone will lead to increased activity of a carcinogenic protein known as “RAS.” This protein, in turn, causes blood cells to proliferate more rapidly.

“This is a surprising discovery that suggests that there is a mechanism behind the development of cancer that has not yet been recognised. It opens the way for new methods of fighting blood cancer cells with NF1 mutations,” says Associate professor Martin Bergö, who leads the research at the Wallenberg Laboratory at the Sahlgrenska Academy.

One of the genes codes for the RAS protein, which is a known accelerator for cell proliferation in several forms of cancer. The other gene codes for a protein known as “NF1,” which is known to reduce the activity of the RAS protein.

The research group at the Sahlgrenska Academy has previously used two different types of mouse models, one of them with the RAS-mutation and the other with the NF1-mutation. Both mutations individually cause a slowly progressing leukemia to develop in the mice. The research group has now combined the two animal models and shown that a very aggressive form of acute leukemia develops in mice with mutations in both genes.

“The corresponding increase in the RAS signalling cannot explain the severe increase in disease aggressiveness, and this means that the NF1 protein may play a different role in the development of the leukemia than we originally thought and may not involve the RAS protein at all. The discovery opens the possibility of developing new treatments for patients who have mutations in NF1,” says Martin Bergö.

The research group is now collaborating with another research group at the Sahlgrenska Academy, investigating the role that the NF1 protein plays, and how these new results can lead to new treatment strategies.  Adapted from materials provided by University of Gothenburg, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Terra med Alliance is a non-profit organization in the battle against leukemia  helps  children living with cancer and their families. Our goal is to make sure children battling cancer know they are not alone. For more information please visit www.terramedalliance.org.  Email at contact@terramedalliance.org

Terra med Alliance News: Acute lymphatic leukemia is the most common form of blood cancer in children. Even though chemotherapy is improving, the cancer often returns. Johan Jansson’s research at Kalmar University in Sweden shows that cancer cells that have been exposed to chemotherapy and survived are less vulnerable to chemotherapy, and more aggressive as well. But this research also yielded discoveries that should be able to enhance our treatment of the disease.

Terra med Alliance News: Johan Jansson’s research shows that leukemia cells that have been exposed to chemotherapy and survived did not develop resistance against bone marrow transplants from a sibling, for example. At the same time, however, several important changes were observed in these cancer cells. On the one hand, they were less vulnerable to chemotherapy and, on the other, their growth rate increased.

Johan Jansson also identified several immunologically important genes that either increased or decreased when they had been exposed to a bone marrow transplant. Three of these genes were especially interesting in that they were involved in activating the immune defense and the killing of cancer cells. It was also shown that such a bone marrow transplant could have an inhibiting effect on the leukemia cells that also proved to be able to activate parts of the immune defense.

Finally, Johan Jansson studied whether it is possible to check the leukemia cells that remain after a bone marrow transplant. This was done by vaccinating mice with a mixture of ‘dead’ leukemia cells and immune cells from a donor. It was observed that the immune defense was activated to some degree, but that the mice did not live any longer as a result. On the other hand, it was seen that these mice had B cells that produced antibodies against leukemia cells. This knowledge could be further elaborated to develop and enhance the effects of a bone marrow transplant. Adapted from materials provided by The Swedish Research Council, via AlphaGalileo. The Swedish Research Council. “New Knowledge About Bone Marrow Transplants Can Help Leukemia Patients.” ScienceDaily 1 October 2009.

Terra med Alliance is a non-profit organization in the battle against leukemia  helps  children living with cancer and their families. Our goal is to make sure children battling cancer know they are not alone. For more information please visit www.terramedalliance.org.  Email at contact@terramedalliance.org

Terra med Alliance News: The risk of developing leukemia as a side effect of a drug for multiple sclerosis (MS) is higher than previously reported, according to a study to be presented as part of the Late-breaking Science Program at the American Academy of Neurology’s 61st Annual Meeting in Seattle, 2009.

Terra med Alliance News: Mitoxantrone is an immunosuppressant drug approved by the FDA for treatment of several forms of advancing MS. It is one of only two drugs that has been shown to benefit people with secondary progressive MS who are having attacks. However, the drug can cause heart damage at high total doses. Due to this, the lifetime cumulative dose is equal to about eight to 12 doses over two to three years.

Previous studies have also shown that the people with MS treated with the drug have an increased risk of developing leukemia. Those studies showed that acute leukemia occurred in .07 percent to .25 percent of MS patients taking mitoxantrone. Today’s retrospective study of 2,854 Italian people with MS receiving the drug found that leukemia occurred in .74 percent.

“This rate is significantly higher than what has been previously reported,” said study author Vittorio Martinelli, MD, of University Vita-Salute in Milan, Italy. “The potential risk of leukemia should be carefully considered against the potential benefits of mitoxantrone treatment on every single patient.”

The study participants all had at least one cycle of mitoxantrone treatment and were observed for at least one year. A total of 21 people developed leukemia, eight of whom died. The people who developed leukemia had more treatment cycles than those who did not develop leukemia—8.6 cycles versus 7.2 cycles. They also had a greater cumulative dose of mitoxantrone.

The leukemia occurred an average of three years after the first use of the drug and an average of 18 months after the end of treatment.

“It is vital that all MS patients treated with mitoxantrone undergo prolonged and careful hematological follow-up to check for acute leukemia,” Martinelli said.

The American Cancer Society has estimated there were 44,270 new cases of leukemia in the general U.S. population last year.  Adapted from materials provided by American Academy of Neurology.

Terra med Alliance is a non-profit organization in the battle against leukemia  helps  children living with cancer and their families. Our goal is to make sure children battling cancer know they are not alone. For more information please visit www.terramedalliance.org.  Email at contact@terramedalliance.org

Terra med Alliance News: Article evaluating StemEx therapy for leukemia and lymphoma to be published

Terra med Alliance News: Gamida Cell announced today the publication of an article evaluating carlecortemcel-l, the generic name of what is widely known as “StemEx”, as a therapy for blood cancers such as leukemia and lymphoma. The article, Carlecortemcel-l, an ex vivo expanded umbilical cord blood cell graft for allogeneic transplantation, written by Dr. Ka Wah Chan and Dr. Demetrios Petropoulos, will be published in the November 2009 issue of Expert Opinion on Biological Therapy. It is now available for online review at (http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.1517/14712590903321447).

Dr. Chan is the director of the Hematology/Oncology and Blood and Marrow Stem Cell Transplant Programs at the Texas Transplant Institute on the campus of Methodist Children’s Hospital in San Antonio, Texas. He is also a principal investigator of the ExCell study currently evaluating StemEx. Dr. Petropoulos is a pediatric hematologist-oncologist at the Children’s Cancer Hospital at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas, where the Phase I study of StemEx was conducted.

In the article Dr. Chan and Dr. Petropoulos note, “Early results suggested that carlecortemcel-l infusion … may be associated with favorable non-relapse mortality rates…. Ex vivo expansion of umbilical cord blood (UCB) cells appears to be a logical approach to increase the availability of this source for hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) transplantation. Laboratory research showed that the critical element of success is to improve HSC proliferation without promoting differentiation. The manufacturing of carlecortemcel-l represents a novel methodology that fulfills this criterion. It is the only product that has reached the confirmatory stage of clinical development. A single institution study (Phase I study at M. D. Anderson Cancer Center) suggested that the infusion of these expanded cells … may improve transplant outcome in large-sized patients.” Source Gamida Cell

About Leukemia

The term leukemia refers to cancers of the white blood cells, which are also referred to as leukocytes or WBCs. When a child has leukemia, large numbers of abnormal white blood cells are produced in the bone marrow. These abnormal white cells crowd the bone marrow and flood the bloodstream, but they cannot perform their proper role of protecting the body against disease because they are defective.

As leukemia progresses, the cancer interferes with the body’s production of other types of blood cells, including red blood cells and platelets. This results in anemia (low numbers of red cells) and bleeding problems, in addition to the increased risk of infection caused by white cell abnormalities.

Terra med Alliance is a non-profit organization in the battle against leukemia  helps  children living with cancer and their families. Our goal is to make sure children battling cancer know they are not alone. For more information please visit www.terramedalliance.org.  Email at contact@terramedalliance.org

Terra med Alliance News Radiation to the brain isn’t necessary for most children with newly diagnosed acute lymphoblastic leukemia, new research has found.

In fact, doctors from St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital found that children who had chemotherapy alone had a longer remission period and experienced fewer adverse events than those who, in the past, had also been given radiation treatments.

“Effective chemotherapy can cure up to 90 percent of all children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia without the use of cranial irradiation,” said study author Dr. Ching-Hon Pui, chairman of oncology at the hospital, in Memphis, Tenn.

“Survivors of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia can now enjoy excellent quality of life, virtually similar to that of the general population,” Pui said.

The study is reported in the June 25 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Leukemia, a cancer that begins in the bone marrow and affects blood cells, is the most common type of cancer affecting children and teens, according to the American Cancer Society. Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is the most common type of childhood leukemia, affecting about three out of every four children with the disease.

Historically, treatment included chemotherapy plus preventive radiation of the brain, according to Pui. And, though the addition of radiation was believed to improve survival, the treatment had serious side effects, including an increased risk for another cancer, cognitive deficits and growth retardation.

Chemotherapy regimens have improved over time, but fear remained that not giving children radiation would mean that residual cancer cells might be missed, allowing the leukemia to return.

The study included the evaluation of 71 children who, in the past, would have received preventive cranial radiation but now were being treated with systemic chemotherapy or chemotherapy administered intrathecally (through a lumbar puncture). They were compared with 56 youngsters who had been treated with prophylactic cranial radiation for ALL.

The five-year remission rate for the chemotherapy-only group was 90.8 percent, vs. 73 percent for the group also given radiation treatment. Eleven children in the chemotherapy group had central nervous system relapses, but all were able to achieve a second remission.

“With effective chemotherapy, prophylactic cranial irradiation can be safely omitted in all children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia,” Pui said.

Dr. A. Kim Ritchey, chief of the division of pediatric hematology/oncology at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, said that the study “may not be the final answer, but my personal bias has always been to decrease radiation as much as possible.”

“The treatment of leukemia has become more and more individualized, and high-risk patients can get more therapy, sometimes even based on their genotype, and this study makes the point that you can attempt to treat high-risk patients without cranial radiation,” he said. “This is the type of data we love to see in pediatric oncology because we’re very concerned about the effects of treatment after the cure.”– Serena Gordon

Terra med Alliance is a non-profit organization in the battle against leukemia  helps  children living with cancer and their families. Our goal is to make sure children battling cancer know they are not alone. For more information please visit www.terramedalliance.org.  Email at contact@terramedalliance.org

Finding could help tailor therapy regimen to individuals, experts say

Terra med Alliance News : By Steven Reinberg HealthDay Reporter.  Genetic variations appear to affect the way children respond to treatment for lymphoblastic leukemia, researchers report.

Although about 80 percent of children suffering from this type of blood and bone marrow cancer are cured, some children do not respond to treatment. Now researchers think they know why.

“For the first time, we used a genome-wide strategy to interrogate over 500,000 variations in inherited DNA to find common gene variations called SNPs, or single nucleotide polymorphisms, that predicted response to chemotherapy,” said lead researcher Mary V. Relling, who chairs the pharmaceutical department at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn.

Much of the emphasis in research on why chemotherapy works better on some people than others has focused on differences in the leukemia cells themselves, Relling noted.

“Our findings imply that the DNA patients inherit from their parents also explains why some patients respond to chemotherapy better than others,” she said. “We also found some interesting genes that were previously under-appreciated and may provide new targets for new drug development.”

The report is published in the Jan. 28 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

For the study, Relling’s team studied genetic variations in 487 children with lymphoblastic leukemia. Their goal was to find evidence of disease that persisted after treatment.

The researchers found 102 SNPs associated with minimal residual disease. “A high proportion of the gene variations were related to levels of the chemotherapy in blood and in leukemia cells; some were related to leukemia cell biology,” Relling said.

An equal number, 21, were also associated with blood-related relapse and with the performance of antileukemic drugs. Overall, 61.7 percent of the SNPs were linked to early response, relapse risk or the performance of antileukemic drugs, the researchers found.

“Some of the gene variation is likely to cause differences among patients in how quickly their bodies rid themselves of the chemotherapy, and some of the variations are likely to penetrate through to the leukemia cells and have an influence on the inherent sensitivity of the leukemia cells to chemotherapy,” Relling said.

Knowing the genetics of patients and knowing the genetics of their tumors are both important in designing effective treatments, she explained.

“When modern genomics is used to try to personalize medication regimens for cancer, we will need to consider the genetic variation that each patient has inherited, in addition to the genetic variation that is unique to the tumor cells,” Relling said. “It will be necessary to continue to do genomic research in as many patients with cancer as possible in order to be able to apply these results in the future.”

Dr. Barton Kamen, chief medical officer of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, noted that almost 20 percent of children treated for lymphoblastic leukemia suffer cognitive damage from chemotherapy.

“The problem is that the high cure rate of lymphoblastic leukemia still has a price,” Kamen said. But knowing the genetic makeup of people and their disease, he said, might make it possible to make treatment less toxic by using lower doses for a shorter time.

In addition, knowing the genetic makeup of children with lymphoblastic leukemia “might point to the reasons for the failure of treatment so we can do something better for the 20 percent of the kids who are destined to fail,” Kamen said.

More information

The U.S. National Cancer Institute has more on childhood leukemia.

Terramed Alliance is a non-profit organization in the battle against leukemia  helps  children living with cancer and their families. Our goal is to make sure children battling cancer know they are not alone. For more information please visit www.terramedalliance.org.  Email at contact@terramedalliance.org

Terra med Alliance News:The model opens the door to further investigation into a rare and often fatal blood cancer.

Terra med Alliance News: Researchers at the University of Minnesota Cancer Center have produced the first genetically-engineered mouse that provides a model of infant acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). The mouse model opens the door to further investigation into the biology, treatment, and possibly cure of infant acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).

Terra med Alliance News: Laboratory Model Makes Further Research Possible

ALL is an often fatal cancer that usually strikes children from infancy to one year of age. Infant ALL currently affects about 200 babies each year in the United States, and claims as many as 60 percent before their first birthday.

An abnormally formed gene is considered to be the source of the disease. While researchers have long known the gene, the absence of a laboratory model to more intensely study the disease has frustrated researchers for nearly two decades. With an experimental model, exploring and designing treatments has been possible. “Hopefully, this mouse will help us find a cure so that in the not too distant future, a parent does not have to experience the agony of losing a baby to this cancer,” said John Kersey, M.D. & Dr. Kersey led the research team and is a physician and researcher specializing in childhood cancers and director of the University’s Cancer Center.

Next, Kersey and his colleagues plan to research drugs that may provide better treatment options for infant ALL.

Terra med Alliance News: Model Provides Hope for Child and Adult Patients

Like all leukemias, infant ALL is an acquired, not inherited, genetic disease. DNA, which contains the code for a person’s genetic structure, goes through a normal process of breaking and rejoining. During this replication process, researchers believe the genetic material in a few bone marrow cells gets damaged, resulting in cancer.

“Sometimes a mistake happens in the rejoining of the DNA and the result can be leukemia,” Kersey said. “In about 75 percent of infants with infant ALL, the genetic rearrangement occurs in the womb as the baby is developing. We believe the genes fuse by mistake and form the basis for infant ALL.”

Adults can also get the disease. About two-thirds of them die on average within two years of diagnosis. Many adults develop this disease as a secondary cancer, having been previously treated with chemotherapy or radiation for another cancer, such as breast cancer.

Kersey collaborated with these colleagues on this research: Weili Chen, Quanzhi Li, Ph.D., Wendy Hudson, Ashish Kumar, M.D., Ph.D., and Nicole Kirchhof, all with the University of Minnesota Cancer Center. The research was funded by a grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Children’s Cancer Research Fund (CCRF).

Terramed Alliance is a non-profit organization in the battle against leukemia  helps  children living with cancer and their families. Our goal is to make sure children battling cancer know they are not alone. For more information please visit www.terramedalliance.org.  Email at contact@terramedalliance.org

Expetec spent several months planning the logistics of moving the Foundation’s lines/circuits, designing a new VoIP phone system and creating plans for an expanded network with VPN. The company recently completed that move and trained on new systems. In addition, Expetec will provide the ongoing monitoring of all the organizations technology.

“Children’s Leukemia Foundation is thrilled to have the expertise of Expetec in our corner when it comes to technology services? said William Seklar, President and CEO of Children’s Leukemia Foundation. “With more than 10 years of experience, we’re confident in their ability to provide exceptional service to our foundation. We look forward to a successful relationship.?

Children’s Leukemia Foundation of Michigan was founded in Detroit in 1952 by a group of parents who had each suffered the loss of a child due to leukemia. Together, this group resolved to support other families stricken with this devastating illness. Since that time, CLF has helped thousands of families fight life-threatening illnesses, and has grown to a statewide agency that provides information, financial assistance, and support to children and adults affected by leukemia, lymphoma, and related blood disorders. For more information on services and volunteer pportunities, see www.leukemiamichigan.org or call 800-825-2536 or 248-530-3000.

Mike Fitz-Gerald President of Expetec said “we at Expetec are excited to be involved with Children’s Leukemia Foundation of Michigan in a partnership where our experience and services will bring a level of reliability to their technology. This will allow them to focus on the services they so expertly provide to patients & families coping with leukemia and other similar diseases.?

Article from: Expetec of Rochester Hills, formerly Beacon Group. For more information on services contact Expetec of Rochester Hills at 248-218-5018 or visit them on the web at www.expetec1221.com.

Terramed Alliance is a non-profit organization in the battle against leukemia  helps  children living with cancer and their families. Our goal is to make sure children battling cancer know they are not alone. For more information please visit www.terramedalliance.org.  Email at contact@terramedalliance.org

To conquer childhood cancer, two leading pediatric cancer organizations, Hope Street Kids founded by former U.S. Congresswoman Deborah Pryce and Randy Walker and CureSearch [National Childhood Cancer Foundation (NCCF) and the Children's Oncology Group (COG)] have joined forces under the umbrella of CureSearch. The announcement was made today at CureSearch’s Reach the Day event on Capitol Hill.

Under the CureSearch flag, the Hope Street Kids program will continue to enhance national pediatric cancer research efforts and bring hope to the current continuum of scientific research. Combining Hope Street Kids support of research developments with those of the COG will lead to a broader path of scientific progress for pediatric cancer.

“Each day that pediatric cancer research goes under-funded, the road to discovering new treatments and cures become longer, and more children are put at risk,” said Gregory Reaman, M.D., Chairman of the Children’s Oncology Group. “We have a long history of success through collaboration; this new partnership will increase the likelihood of continued success.

Until now, advances in childhood cancer have been dramatic — 40 years ago cure rates were less than 10 percent; today, 78 percent overall are cured. Recognizing that there is more to be done, in 2008, Congress unanimously passed the Caroline Pryce Walker Conquer Childhood Cancer Act originally sponsored by former Rep. Deborah Pryce and named in honor of her daughter who died from neuroblastoma in 1999. The bill was signed into law in July 2008 authorizing $150 million ($30 million each year) to expand pediatric cancer research, awareness and to create the national childhood cancer research registry.

“Over the past ten years Hope Street Kids has had a wonderfully productive relationship under the auspices of the Prevent Cancer Foundation. We are truly grateful for the guidance and support that the organization has provided us for many years. We are delighted to team up with CureSearch to support the life-saving work of the COG,” said former Rep. Deborah Pryce and co-founder of Hope Street Kids. “I am confident that our new relationship will lead us to making the research advances necessary to ensure a healthy future for all children.”

The joint effort was announced today in front of more than 450 participants at CureSearch’s Reach the Day Rally on Capitol Hill featuring Rep. Joe Sestak (D-PA). This year’s congressional visits from CureSearch families from 37 states and D.C. are focused on urging members of Congress to fully fund the bill. The $30M per year needs to be appropriated by Congress annually, and with the current economic situation the childhood cancer community is concerned about the funding being fully appropriated for 2010 and beyond.

“The addition of the Hope Street Kids to CureSearch will accelerate COG research from the bench to the bedside,” said Stacy Pagos Haller, Executive Director, CureSearch National Childhood Cancer Foundation. “Together, we will reach the day when every child with cancer is guaranteed a cure.”

Also announced at CureSearch’s Reach the Day is the formation of the first Pediatric Cancer Caucus — members of Congress dedicated to conquering childhood cancer — and the congressional proclamation that September 12 is National Childhood Cancer Awareness Day.

Contacts
Terramed Alliance News : For more information about CureSearch National Children Cancer Foundation, contact Sheri Singer, sheri.singer@verizon.net. 703-346-7111.

Terramed Alliance is a non-profit organization in the battle against leukemia  helps  children living with cancer and their families. Our goal is to make sure children battling cancer know they are not alone. For more information please visit www.terramedalliance.org.  Email at contact@terramedalliance.org