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Vaccine may Improve Leukemia Treatment

(Ivanhoe Newswire) - February 22, 2005 - A vaccine that stimulates immune response could boost the effectiveness of conventional treatment for patients with chronic myeloid leukemia, according to a new study.

CML occurs when certain chromosomes, after breaking and exchanging, result in a shortened chromosome called the Philadelphia chromosome. This chromosome causes cells to make a protein that promotes abnormal division and growth.

Researchers in Italy studied 16 patients with stable but detectable forms of CML. Ten of the patients were on the drug imatinib (Gleevec), and the remaining six were on the drug interferon alpha. The patients received one dose (six injections) of a vaccine targeting the faulty protein in addition to the medication they were already taking. They were evaluated after three and six doses.

Results show nine of the patients on imatinib had further reduction of their disease, with five having complete cytogenetic remission (meaning no Philadelphia chromosomes were detected during cell division). Also, three out of those five had undetectable disease at a molecular level, which is extremely rare.

Among the group receiving the vaccine along with interferon alpha, five out of six had their disease reduced, with two having complete cytogenetic remission.

Study author Monica Bocchia, M.D., of the University of Siena in Italy remarks, "Our preliminary data suggest that the addition of this vaccine to patients treated with conventional treatment might favor further reduction of the residual disease and increase the number of patients who reach a molecular response, the best surrogate of cure for those with chronic myeloid leukemia."

This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, who offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, go to: http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/.

SOURCE: The Lancet, 2005;365:657-662

Nelly Postpones Show after His Sister Dies of Cancer

3/24/2005 - KBTV-4 News has confirmed recording superstar Nelly has pulled back the reigns on his Beaumont stop and rescheduled the show. Concert promoter Steve Caldwell tells Hometown News Nelly's sister died this morning after a long-fought battle with cancer.

Caldwell says the Nelly camp has kept in close contact with SK Productions since his sister began taking a turn for the worse.

Caldwell says Beaumont should be the first stop the rap star makes after dealing with the tragic death of his sister.

Nelly's sister, 30-year-old Jackie Donahue, was diagnosed with Acute Myelogenous Leukemia on March 29, 2001. In June 2001, her leukemia had gone into remission. In January 2003, her leukemia relapsed. Jackie was depending on a bone marrow transplant for survival.

Ford Park & SMG Issue Press Release :

Ford Park/SMG and promoters Coondog Productions and SK Productions regrettably must announce that tonight? Nelly concert at Ford Arena has been cancelled due to the death of Nelly? sister, Jackie, who was diagnosed with Leukemia.

THE PROMOTER DOES PLAN TO RESCHEDULE THE FORD ARENA CONCERT, but specific details are not currently available. Anyone interested in obtaining a refund may return tickets to point of purchase. If you purchased your tickets at the Ford Park Box Office, refunds will be available starting Tuesday, March 29th at Noon. For phone and internet sales, please call Ticketmaster at 409-833-7747 for more information about how to obtain a refund.

SMG was informed by the promoter of this unfortunate development at 12:30am this morning, and we have been working to get as much detail together as possible for release to the media and the public. Further information will be released as it becomes available. Our thoughts and prayers are with Nelly and his family during this difficult time.

Leukemia Drug Effective For Another Cancer

Make WFMY News 2 Your Home Page

A relatively new drug to treat leukemia is now showing great results on another type of cancer too.
Gastrointestinal stromal tumors, also known as gists, are rare affecting only a few thousand in the US every year. Surgery is the best treatment, but only half are usually candidates.

Dr. Edward Levine, a surgical oncologist at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center says, "There's a new medication called Gleevec, which has a substantial response rate, is actually a pill that is taken once a day."

He says about 80% of people respond to the treatment, even those with advanced disease.

"We literally had some patients go from the hospice to the golf course in two weeks."

Doctors are Wake are studying whether the addition of Gleevec after surgery can further improve a patient's survival rate.

Cancidas as Effective as AmBisome® with Well Documented Safety

Merck & Co, Inc announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the once-daily antifungal medicine CANCIDAS® (caspofungin acetate) as empirical therapy for presumed fungal infections in febrile neutropenic patients.
Approval was based on results from the largest prospective antifungal empirical therapy trial published to date in neutropenic patients with persistent fever. This study, recently published in The New England Journal of Medicine, showed that CANCIDAS was as effective as AmBisome for empiric therapy of presumed fungal infections in these patients.

"Invasive fungal infections are particularly life-threatening in neutropenic patients undergoing chemotherapy for malignancies such as acute myelogenous leukemia and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and those who undergo hematopoietic stem cell transplantation," said Issam Raad, professor of medicine, and chairman of infectious diseases, infection control, and employee health at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston. "When clinical signs, such as persistent fever despite the presence of broad spectrum antibiotics, suggest the possible presence of a fungal infection in this population, it is important to intervene with an effective treatment. This indication should provide physicians with confidence in CANCIDAS as an effective and generally well tolerated agent for use as empirical therapy in neutropenic patients who present with persistent fever despite ongoing therapy with broad spectrum antibiotics."

CANCIDAS is the first in a class of antifungals called echinocandins that inhibit fungal cell wall synthesis of ß (1,3)-D-glucan, an integral component of the fungal cell wall. CANCIDAS is contraindicated in patients with hypersensitivity to any component of the product. Concomitant use of CANCIDAS with cyclosporine is not recommended unless the potential benefit outweighs the potential risk to the patient.

Impressive results demonstrated across all efficacy end points

The multi-center, double-blind trial showed that CANCIDAS (n=556) was as effective as AmBisome (amphotericin B) (n=539), a frequently used anti-fungal agent, in treating presumed fungal infections in neutropenic patients with persistent fever.

The study enrolled patients who had received chemotherapy or undergone hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation (HSCT, such as bone marrow transplantation) and presented with neutropenia (<500 cells/mm3 for 96 hours) and fever (>38.0° C) that had not responded to antibacterial therapy. An overall favorable response required meeting each of the following five criteria: survival for seven days after completion of study therapy, no breakthrough fungal infections during treatment or within seven days after the end of therapy, no discontinuation of study drug because of drug-related toxicity or lack of efficacy, resolution of fever during the period of neutropenia, and successful treatment of any baseline fungal infection (identified on days one and two).

Overall favorable response rates showed CANCIDAS to be as effective as AmBisome with 33.9 percent and 33.7 percent of patients meeting all five criteria in each group, respectively. Favorable response rates for CANCIDAS and AmBisome on each of the following strictly defined components of the primary endpoint were:

-- Survival for seven days after completion of treatment

-- Of patients taking CANCIDAS, 92.6 percent (515 of 556 patients) survived at least seven days following the cessation of treatment versus 89.2 percent (481 of 539 patients) taking AmBisome.

-- Prevention of breakthrough fungal infection through seven days after completion of treatment

Results showed that 94.8 percent or 527 patients taking CANCIDAS demonstrated no breakthrough fungal infections, as compared to 95.5 percent or 515 patients taking AmBisome.

-- No discontinuation due to toxicity or lack of efficacy

There were no discontinuations due to toxicity or lack of efficacy in 89.7 percent or 499 patients taking CANCIDAS and 85.5 percent or 461 patients taking AmBisome.

-- Resolution of fever during period of neutropenia

CANCIDAS was similar to AmBisome for this component of the primary endpoint with 41.2 percent or 229 patients experiencing resolution of fever on CANCIDAS versus 41.4 percent or 223 patients taking AmBisome.

-- Successful treatment of baseline infection

The rate of successful treatment of documented baseline infections was not statistically different between treatment groups.

Well documented safety profile of CANCIDAS in empirical therapy

The safety profile of CANCIDAS was superior to AmBisome with regard to several prespecified safety measures. Among patients with normal to moderately impaired renal function, the occurrence of nephrotoxicity was significantly lower for patients treated with CANCIDAS versus AmBisome (2.6 percent vs 11.5 percent) The percentage of patients with either a drug-related clinical or drug-related laboratory adverse experience was significantly lower among patients receiving CANCIDAS versus AmBisome (54.4 percent vs. 69.3 percent). The percentage of patients who discontinued therapy due to a drug-related clinical or laboratory adverse experience was significantly lower among patients receiving CANCIDAS versus AmBisome (5.0 percent vs. 8.0 percent). The proportion of patients who experienced an infusion-related adverse event was significantly lower in patients treated with CANCIDAS versus AmBisome (35.1 percent vs. 51.6 percent).

In this study, the most common drug-related clinical adverse experiences in patients treated with CANCIDAS were fever (17 percent), chills (13.8 percent), rash (6.2 percent), headache (4.3 percent), hypokalemia (3.7 percent), vomiting and nausea (3.5 percent).

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