From:
Sukie Crandall
Date: 2010-09-08 16:03:30 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] new chemotherapeutic approach for lymphoma
To: fhl <ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com>
Not yet tested in ferrets.
In a very small study it has arrested the growth of tumors in 3 of six=20
dogs and caused partial remission in a fourth.
Ferrets are descended from the dog branch of Order Carnivora, BTW.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-09/uoia-nlt090210.php
Press release in full:
> New lymphoma treatment shows promise in dogs
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> CHAMPAIGN, Ill. =97 Researchers have identified a new target for the=20
> treatment of lymphoma and are testing a potential new drug in pet=20
> dogs afflicted with the disease. At low doses, the compound, called=20
> S-PAC-1, arrested the growth of tumors in three of six dogs tested=20
> and induced partial remission in a fourth.
> The results of the study, conducted by researchers at the University=20
> of Illinois, appear this month in the journal Cancer Research.
>
> The new compound targets a cellular enzyme, procaspase-3, that when=20
> activated spurs a cascade of reactions that kill the cell, said=20
> chemistry professor Paul Hergenrother, who co-led the study with Tim=20
> Fan, a professor of veterinary clinical medicine.
> Procaspase-3 offers an attractive target for cancer therapy, in part=20
> because cancers often interfere with normal cell death, and in part=20
> because many tumors =96 including those found in breast cancer, colon =
> cancer, lung cancer, lymphoma, melanoma and liver cancer =96 contain=20
> high levels of procaspase-3.
>
> "In my lab, we try to think of novel targets and novel approaches to=20
> cancer and other diseases," Hergenrother said. "We think about the=20
> pathways that lead to those diseases, and we try to intervene at=20
> spots where others have not."
>
> The new compound is a modified version of a drug the researchers=20
> previously tested in mice and one dog.
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> The original compound, called PAC-1, was found to cause neurological=20
> excitation (neurotoxicity) even at low doses, the researchers said.=20
> Fan and his colleagues hypothesized that PAC-1, which works in part=20
> by grabbing zinc away from other molecules, was crossing the blood/
> brain barrier and latching onto zinc in the brain.
>
> To prevent the compound from passing into the brain, Hergenrother's=20
> laboratory made a derivative of PAC-1 with an added chemical group,=20
> called a sulfonamide. Tests in pet dogs with spontaneously occurring=20
> lymphoma showed that the new compound, S-PAC-1, stabilized or=20
> reduced the size of tumors in a majority of the animals, without=20
> neurotoxicity. Other side effects were mild, and recent adjustments=20
> to the treatment protocol have minimized or eliminated them, the=20
> researchers report.
>
> If S-PAC-1 proves to be effective and safe as a lymphoma treatment=20
> and is approved by the FDA for use in dogs and/or humans (a process=20
> that could take years, the researchers emphasized), it will likely=20
> be added to the arsenal of drugs already used to combat lymphoma in=20
> both dogs and humans. It could be used in combination with other=20
> drugs as a first treatment option or serve as a second line of=20
> defense if the cancer returns.
>
> Cancer drug combinations must be carefully tailored to avoid=20
> "overlapping toxicities," Fan said, so a drug that effectively=20
> treats lymphoma with minimal side effects is very desirable.
>
> The study in pet dogs is also unusual, Fan said, as most studies=20
> look at effects in mice and then, if a compound is promising and=20
> appears safe, it is tested in clinical trials in humans. The six=20
> dogs used in this study were veterinary patients that had=20
> spontaneously developed lymphoma, he said.
>
> The similarities between human and canine lymphoma also add to the=20
> desirability of this approach, Hergenrother said.
>
> "If you look at the genetic signatures of canine lymphoma and human=20
> lymphoma, they're very, very similar and their response to therapy=20
> is very, very similar," he said. "So there's lots of reasons to be=20
> optimistic about a compound that has some effect in the canines,=20
> that it could have a similar effect in humans."
>
>
> ###
>
> This study was supported by funding from the National Cancer=20
> Institute at the National Institutes of Health. A new $525,000 grant=20
> from the NCI will support a clinical trial of S-PAC-1 in companion=20
> animal dogs.
>
> More information about the upcoming trial is available online: http://vet=
med.illinois.edu/vth/MedServices/SmallAnimal/CancerCareClinic/CancerCareCli=
nic.html
> .
>
> Editor's notes: To reach Paul Hergenrother, call 217-333-0363; e-
> mail hergenro@illinois.edu.
>
> To reach Tim Fan, call 217-333-5375; e-mail t-fan@illinois.edu.
>
> The paper, "Discovery and Canine Preclinical Assessment of a=20
> Nontoxic Procaspase-3-Activating Compound," is available from the U.=20
> of I. News Bureau.
>
Sukie (not a vet)
Recommended ferret health links:
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/
http://ferrethealth.org/archive/
http://www.afip.org/ferrets/index.html
http://www.miamiferret.org/
http://www.ferrethealth.msu.edu/
http://www.ferretcongress.org/
http://www.trifl.org/index.shtml
http://homepage.mac.com/sukie/sukiesferretlinks.html
all ferret topics:
http://listserv.ferretmailinglist.org/archives/ferret-search.html
"All hail the procrastinators for they shall rule the world tomorrow."
(2010, Steve Crandall)
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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