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New Fronts in the War on Cancer by Yael Li-Ron
A new "smart drug" for treating leukemia has been approved by the FDA. Novartis AG's leukemia pill Gleevec blocks the excessive growth of certain white blood cells in chronic myelogenous leukemia patients. CML is a particularly aggressive–and often fatal–form of leukemia. When white blood cells replicate uncontrollably, the body can't fight infection. Gleevec doesn't damage healthy cells and, experts say, may also be used to treat other forms of cancer with biochemical flaws similar to those found in CML. Another new approach to cancer treatment is based on the premise that a tumor by itself isn't deadly unless it spreads and metastasizes throughout the body. Therefore, a new drug known as IM-C225 doesn't try to kill tumors, it only stops their growth, rendering the cancer a mere chronic rather than fatal disease. If IM-C225 delivers as promised, a cancer patient will have to go on a maintenance program, receiving the drug regularly. ImClone Systems (www.imclone.com), which manufactures IM-C225, is currently conducting clinical trials on patients with refractory colorectal cancer, head and neck cancer, pancreatic cancer and lung cancer. Formerly a mainland hypochondriac, writer Yael Li-Ron (www.tipx.com) enjoys great health since she moved to Hawaii. Her interest in medical research, and genetic engineering in particular, started a few years ago when a close friend was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.
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A promising cancer treatment, using a genetically engineered molecule, aims to block the blood supply to cancerous tumors. The procedure has had encouraging results in lab animals, and human trials are set to start next year. The molecule, developed by a team led by Alan Garen, a Yale professor of microbiology and biochemistry, will initially be used to treat melanoma. It's been shown to be effective in the treatment of prostate cancer and melanoma in mice.
