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NCCN Announces Important Updates to Myelodysplastic Syndromes Guidelines

2/23/2006 - The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) announces updates to the NCCN Myelodysplastic Syndromes (MDS) Guidelines. The NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology(TM) are widely recognized and applied as the standard for clinical policy in oncology in both the community practice setting and in academic cancer centers. These guidelines are used extensively by managed care companies and by Medicare as the basis for coverage policies. These guidelines are updated continually and are based upon evaluation of scientific data integrated with expert judgment.

The NCCN expert panel recommends lenolidamide (Revlimid, Celgene) for the treatment of patients with myelodysplastic syndrome who have an abnormality on part of chromosome number 5 and who have abnormally low numbers of red blood cells, white blood cells or platelets. The guideline also recommends the strong consideration of deferasirox (Exjade, Novartis) or deferiprone (Ferriprox, Apotex) to reduce iron availability in patients who meet criteria for treatment of chronic iron overload.

"NCCN Guidelines highlight the cutting-edge developments in treatment and are an essential tool for physicians, allied health professionals, patients and public and private payors," said William T. McGivney, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of the NCCN.

For a detailed listing of all updates to the NCCN Guidelines, please go to www.nccn.org.

About the National Comprehensive Cancer Network

The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN), a nonprofit alliance of 19 of the world's leading cancer centers, is dedicated to improving the quality, effectiveness, and efficiency of oncology practice so patients can live better lives. Through the leadership and expertise of clinical professionals at NCCN member institutions, NCCN develops resources that present valuable information to the numerous stakeholders throughout the health care delivery system. As the arbiter of high-quality cancer care, NCCN emphasizes the importance of and promotes continuous quality improvement, creating and publishing clinical practice guidelines appropriate for use by patients, clinicians, and other health care decision-makers. NCCN programs include: Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology(TM), the Drugs & Biologics Compendium(TM), Treatment Guidelines for Patients, the Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (JNCCN), Cancer Resource Lines for Leukemia and Multiple Myeloma, educational conferences and symposia for clinicians, the Oncology Outcomes Database Project, the Oncology Research Program, Cancer Case Manager(TM), and collaborations with managed care organizations.

The NCCN member institutions are:

-- City of Hope Cancer Center

-- Dana-Farber/Partners CancerCare

-- Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center

-- Fox Chase Cancer Center

-- Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah

-- Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center / Seattle Cancer Care Alliance

-- Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute at The Ohio State University

-- The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins

-- Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University

-- Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center

-- H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute at the University of South Florida

-- Roswell Park Cancer Institute

-- St. Jude Children's Research Hospital / University of Tennessee Cancer Institute

-- Stanford Hospital & Clinics

-- University of Alabama at Birmingham Comprehensive Cancer Center

-- UCSF Comprehensive Cancer Center

-- University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center

-- UNMC Eppley Cancer Center at The Nebraska Medical Center

-- The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center

CONTACT:
National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Thomas Mitchell, 215-690-0245 [email protected] www.nccn.org

Myelodysplastic Syndromes Guidelines
Acute Myelogenous Leukemia Guidelines

New strain of mice to aid development of leukemia drugs

Houston, Aug. 24 (PTI): A study by US cancer researchers has revealed a new strain of mice that offers the first real animal model for an incurable form of chronic leukemia and is expected to aid the development of new drugs for the disease.

The mouse, called the TCL-1 transgenic mouse, develops a malignancy that closely mimics chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). The lack of an animal model has greatly hampered the development of new treatments for CLL as well as research into its causes and the changes that drive drug resistance.

"This mouse strain shares many of the molecular and genetic features of human CLL, responds to drugs typically used to treat the disease and develops drug resistance that renders treatment ineffective, as often happens in CLL patients," says John C Byrd, a specialist at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center(OSUCCC).

"The strain should be extremely valuable for the development and testing of both conventional drugs and those aimed at molecular targets for CLL," he adds.

The findings are published in the August 15 issue of the journal 'Blood', which includes a commentary on the significance of the research.

An estimated 10,000 Americans will develop CLL in 2006, and about 4,600 will die of the disease. The malignancy usually strikes people aged 50 or older and causes the proliferation of white blood cells called lymphocytes. Other effects include severe anaemia and a high risk of viral, bacterial and fungal infections.

The average rate of survival after diagnosis is eight to 12 years. The standard treatment for CLL is the drug fludarabine, but the disease often becomes resistant to the drug.

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