Emerging lymphoma and myeloma treatments focus on improving individual patient response

Lymphoma and myeloma are both malignant diseases that arise from lymphocytes, a subset of blood cells, and commonly involve lymph nodes and the bone marrow. Although considerable progress has been made in the treatment of these diseases, they remain a significant challenge for patients and their hematologists. New research introducing unique treatment approaches and targets for lymphoma and myeloma will be presented today at the 53rd Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology.

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USC microbiologists identify two molecules that kill lymphoma cells in mice

Researchers at the University of Southern California have identified two molecules that may be more effective cancer killers than are currently available on the market.

The peptides, molecules derived from a cancer-causing virus, target an enzyme in cancerous cells that regulates a widely researched tumor suppressor protein known as p53. The peptides inhibit the enzyme, causing p53 levels in cancer cells to rise, which leads to cell death. Lymphoma tumors in mice injected with the two peptides showed marked regression with no significant weight-loss or gross abnormalities.

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Berkeley Lab scientists find that normal breast cells help kill cancer cells

It is well known that the human body has a highly developed immune system to detect and destroy invading pathogens and tumor cells. Now, researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have shown that the body has a second line of defense against cancer – healthy cells. A new study shows that normal mammary epithelial cells, as they are developing, secrete interleukin 25, a protein known for its role in the immune system’s response to inflammation, for the express purpose of killing nearby breast cancer cells.

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Scripps Research and MIT scientists discover class of potent anti-cancer compounds

LA JOLLA, CA, AND JUPITER, FL – March 7, 2011 – Embargoed by the journal PNAS until March 7, 2011, 3 PM, Eastern time –Working as part of a public program to screen compounds to find potential medicines and other biologically useful molecules, scientists from The Scripps Research Institute and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have discovered an extremely potent class of potential anti-cancer and anti-neurodegenerative disorder compounds. The scientists hope their findings will one day lead to new therapies for cancer and Alzheimer’s disease patients.

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MicroRNA-TP53 circuit connected to chronic lymphocytic leukemia

JAMA paper provides molecular framework for effect of chromosome deletion in CLL

HOUSTON - The interplay between a major tumor-suppressing gene, a truncated chromosome and two sets of microRNAs provides a molecular basis for explaining the less aggressive form of chronic lymphocytic leukemia, an international team of researchers reports today in the Jan. 4 edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

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Scientists discover powerful biomarker panel for the early detection of breast cancer

In the war on cancer, perhaps there is nothing more powerful in a physician’s arsenal than early detection. Despite recent advances in early detection and treatment, breast cancer remains a common and significant health problem in the United States and worldwide. Approximately one in ten women will get breast cancer in their lifetime and more than half of women with late stage cancer (II and III) have no cure or effective therapeutic available.

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Personalized vaccine for lymphoma patients extends disease-free survival by nearly 2 years

Penn-led research points to new ways to identify patients who are most likely to respond to cancer vaccine treatment

(ORLANDO, Fla.) – A personalized vaccine is a powerful therapy to prevent recurrence among certain follicular lymphoma patients, according to the latest results of ongoing research led by the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. The new findings show that when these patients – whose tumors are marked by a specific protein that may be present in up to half of people with this type of cancer — receive a vaccine made from their own tumor cells, disease-free survival is improved by nearly two years, compared with patients who receive a placebo. Based on the new analysis, the team thinks they can explain why the results of previous trials of similar therapeutic cancer vaccines were not as strong as expected.

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New standards of care and novel treatment options for several forms of lymphoma unveiled

(ORLANDO, December 5, 2010) – The next generation of drug therapies and enhanced treatment approaches for various forms of lymphoma are evolving as researchers continue to better understand how these cancers progress. Research will be presented today at the 52nd Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology introducing promising new options for the standard treatment of advanced asymptomatic follicular lymphoma, mantle cell lymphoma, and early, unfavorable (referring to patients with clinical stage I or II disease and one or more risk factors) Hodgkin disease. Other research highlights the efficacy of an innovative investigational agent that has the potential to become a new treatment option for patients with relapsed or refractory Hodgkin disease, which currently has no available treatment options.

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New lymphoma therapy may be more effective with fewer side effects

Weill Cornell researchers report on targeted therapy to repress protein mutations in diffuse large B-cell lymphomas

NEW YORK (Nov. 3, 2010) — Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is a type of aggressive non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma that accounts for approximately 40 percent of lymphomas among adults. If left untreated, it is fatal. The existing treatments have a cure rate that is slightly over 50 percent but destroy healthy cells along with the cancer cells.

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A discovery could be important for the therapy of lymphoma and leukemia

The IRCM’s Dr. Javier M. Di Noia identifies a mechanism regulating activation-induced deaminase

A recent scientific discovery made by researchers at the Institut de recherches cliniques de Montréal (IRCM) led by Dr. Javier Marcelo Di Noia, Director of the Mechanisms and Genetic Diversity research unit, was published online today by The Journal of Experimental Medicine. The team identified a mechanism regulating activation-induced deaminase (AID), which could be important for the therapy of some types of lymphoma and leukemia.

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