Posted by rob on January 25, 2005 under Uncategorized | 
Program Introduces New Tool That Helps Identify Older Patients’ Capacity
To Benefit From, Tolerate Cancer Treatment
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., Jan. 25 /PRNewswire/ — The Leukemia & Lymphoma
Society announced today the launch of a pilot program, “Breaking Through the
Age Barrier.” The launch coincides with the Society’s release of a toolkit
for older patients and their caregivers. The pilot program, for patients and
healthcare professionals, aims to encourage older blood cancer patients to get
the best possible care and equip their medical team with tools to make
treatment decisions. At the core of the project is the Geriatric Assessment
which helps providers recognize who will benefit from treatment who may have
special needs that need to be addressed during treatment. A Comprehensive
Geriatric Assessment checklist, which evaluates an individual’s physical and
emotional capacity to undergo and tolerate cancer treatment and its side
effects, includes simple forms to fill out as well as physical and laboratory
tests.
“Older patients may need special attention when it comes to cancer
treatment,” says Robin Kornhaber, the Society’s Senior Vice President of
Patient Services. “But the concept of being too old for cancer treatment is
outdated.” More than half of all cancers occur in people older than 65 years
and they appear to benefit from treatment to the same extent as younger
individuals.
Six-Chapter Pilot Program Introduces Geriatric Assessment
The Society’s pilot program will be introduced this spring in Detroit,
Mich., Palm Beach, Fla., Northern New Jersey, Upstate New York, Baltimore,
Md., and Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Calif. Next year, the Society
expects the program to be offered at each of its 63 chapter sites across the
U.S. At the pilot sites this year, the Society will hold workshops for older
patients to familiarize them with advocacy, communication and emotional
aspects of battling blood cancer.
The Society will also introduce the Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment
checklist (CGA) to elderly patients. Health care professionals review CGA
criteria with patients to assess how much an older adult might benefit from
cancer treatment and how well he or she would be likely to tolerate it. The
CGA is also useful in identifying problems that can be remedied (such as poor
nutrition), making cancer treatment safer for the individual.
By familiarizing elderly patients with this tool, the Society hopes
patients will fully participate in this evaluation and even ask for such an
assessment if one is not offered. This provides patients the opportunity to
proactively engage in treatment decisions and also helps patients recognize
the impact their general health, independence and emotional well-being may
have on the success of their cancer treatment.
The CGA looks at a person’s ability to carry out day-to-day activities
independently (called functional status), the presence of other illnesses,
living conditions and support, thinking and mood, other medications taken,
nutrition and so-called geriatric syndromes.
Age Not a Barrier to Treatment
“Age alone is not enough to identify a patient’s chances to benefit from
cancer treatment,” said Lodovico Balducci, M.D., program leader of the Senior
Adult Oncology Program at the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research
Institute in Tampa. “One 75-year-old can be perfectly healthy with no other
illnesses and be very independent and capable, while another may be struggling
with other ailments and be completely dependent. Health care professionals
who conduct a CGA with patients will get a more complete picture, and
patients, in turn, when educated about the value of the CGA will find it more
palatable and will likely be more engaged in their health care.”
Without such an assessment, it is not unusual for an older patient to be
turned away from a clinical trial (a controlled test of a new drug or medical
device in humans) based on age or for a clinician to take a less-aggressive
treatment tact with an elderly patient. When John Rowe of Washington, D.C.,
was diagnosed with chronic myelogenous leukemia in 2000, he was initially
rattled, but quickly optimistic. He was 62 and in good health when the
diagnosis came. He had heard about a new experimental drug (now marketed as
Gleevec) in clinical trials and was going to see a 35-yr-old ‘whiz kid’
oncologist. The ‘whiz kid,’ however, consulted a statistical table, told Rowe
that, at 62, he probably had between one and four years left, should get his
affairs in order and the doctor would keep him comfortable until the end came.
Rowe quickly collected his own patient records, ceased his relationship with
the whiz kid, investigated the clinical trials on his own and was enrolled.
He’s been on Gleevec for four years and was in remission six months after
starting on the drug.
Toolkit for Older Adults and Their Caregivers
In addition, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society has published “A Toolkit for
Older Adults with Cancer, and Their Caregivers.” The brochure series includes
pamphlets on choosing a healthcare team, understanding treatment options and
clinical trials, money matters and a caregiver’s guide. The brochure series,
which is available free, can be obtained by calling The Leukemia & Lymphoma
Society’s Information Resource Center (IRC) at 1-800-955-4572. For
information about the Breaking Through the Age Barrier pilot program and when
it will be offered, patients are encouraged to call their local chapters.
About The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
The Society, headquartered in White Plains, NY, with 63 chapters in the
United States and additional branches in Canada, is the world’s largest
voluntary health organization dedicated to funding blood cancer research and
providing education and patient services. The Society’s mission: Cure
leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of
life of patients and their families. Since its founding in 1949, the Society
has invested more than $360 million in research specifically targeting
leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma. Last year alone, the Society made more than
812,000 contacts with patients, caregivers and healthcare professionals.
For more information about blood cancer, visit http://www.LLS.org or call
the Society’s Information Resource Center (IRC), a call center staffed by
master’s level social workers, nurses and health educators who provide
information, support and resources to patients and their families and
caregivers. IRC information specialists are available at (800) 955-4572,
Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET.
SOURCE The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
Web Site: http://www.LLS.org
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Up to the challenge
Shivana not giving in to leukaemia…
By SATEESH MAHARAJ
Tuesday, January 25th 2005
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| Photo of Shivana Arjoon Singh taken in April 2004 before she was diagnosed with cancer. |
Kick boxer. Aspiring architect. Dedicated student.
These are but some of the words which can describe 20-year-old Shivana Arjoon Singh. Less than a year ago Singh was at the top of her game and felt that certain euphoria of invincibility experienced by many young people today.
Just when it seemed as though she had the world at her fingertips, fate stepped in and significantly changed her life.
The petite beauty explained: “I got really sick. My body was heating up. I ate a lot of ice to cool down. My mother thought something was a bit weird so I went for a blood test. They told me my white blood cells were over the normal count. I got a physical check-up. They checked my spleen and found it to be twice the normal size and was wrapped around my stomach area.”
Singh made an appointment with haematologist Dr Ramesh P Mathura. In no way was she prepared for his diagnosis–Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia (CML).
Chronic myelogenous leukaemia is a malignant cancer of the bone marrow. It causes rapid growth of the blood-forming cells (known as myeloid precursors) in the bone marrow, peripheral blood, and body tissues. The disease can occur in adults (usually middle-aged) and children. CML affects one to two people per 100, 000 and accounts for seven to 20 per cent cases of leukaemia. It is usually associated with a chromosome abnormality called the Philadelphia chromosome.
CML is characterised by a chronic phase that can last for months or years. The disease may have few or no symptoms during the chronic phase. Eventually, the chronic phase progresses to a more dangerous “accelerated phase,” during which the leukaemia cells grow more quickly.
Acceleration of the disease may be associated with fever (without infection), bone pain, and an enlarged spleen. Within five years, in most people, the disease then progresses to a “blast crisis,” when there is a very high count of immature white blood cells (leukaemia cells). The blast phase of the leukaemia is very difficult to treat. Bleeding and infection may occur due to bone marrow failure.
Other possible symptoms include: fatigue, weakness, excessive sweating (night sweats), low-grade fever, pressure under the left ribs from an enlarged spleen, bleeding and bruising and sudden appearance of small red marks on the skin (petechiae).
“I was in denial,” Singh sighed. “I refused to believe I had anything. Come on…look at the stuff I do. I am kind of a health freak so to get this was a total shock. I went through a long depression. It really shakes you. I felt that I was undefeatable. Imagine someone who is not as emotionally strong to be hit with something like this.”
Unwilling to sit by and watch her sister give in to the disease, Monie Singh decided to provide some much-needed inspiration.
“I would not take no for an answer,” Monie snapped. “Shivana is one of the best designers I have seen. She is an up-and-coming architect. She has so much going for her. Being diagnosed was just a transitionary period. She needed to get back her life; get over the immediate and see where she needed to be. She did it on her own, really. She just needed someone to point her in the right direction.”
Monie collected stories of those who survived the dehabilitating disease. Using these words of hope she was able to return Shivana to some semblance of her former self. That was the easy part. Raising money to ensure Shivana’s survival was a bit more tricky.
Hospitalisation and operation costs have been estimated at a staggering US$200,000.
Shivana has been able to maintain a healthy appearance by changing her eating habits and reducing how much she pushes herself. She has promised to start fund-raising efforts to aid others in need once she has overcome her own physical and financial hurdles.
The first in a series of treatments is scheduled for next month so the public’s assistance is desperately needed. Contributions can be forwarded to account number 1917137802 set up at the Royal Bank, Trincity Branch.
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http://www.trinidadexpress.com/index.pl/article_features?id=56939647
Posted by rob on under Uncategorized |
Public release date: 24-Jan-2005
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Contact: Eryn Jelesiewicz
dobeck@temple.edu
215-707-0730
Temple University
(PHILADELPHIA) Temple University researchers have developed a new drug that could potentially treat all forms of Gleevec-resistant chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML). Their work is published in this week’s early edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
According to lead researcher, Prem Reddy, Ph.D., professor of biochemistry and Director of the Fels Institute for Cancer Research at Temple University School of Medicine, most patients with advanced CML, a rare but deadly form of cancer, typically develop resistance to Gleevec, the most successful treatment for CML to date, within a few years of starting the therapy.
CML is caused by the Philadelphia chromosome, an abnormality that produces a cancer protein called BCR-ABL. Gleevec works by binding to BCR-ABL and completely blocking its activity, thereby stopping cancer growth. When Gleevec came to market about four years ago, it was widely hailed as a miracle drug. For the first time, there was hope for this group of patients.
“Gleevec has been a remarkable success for the treatment of CML. However, a significant number of patients eventually develop resistance to it because their cancer cells are able to mutate and adapt,” said Reddy.
Since discovering this phenomenon, scientists have sought new ways to prevent or overcome this resistance. Recently, two experimental drugs were found to be effective in circumventing some but not all forms of Gleevec resistance. Both, for instance, failed to block the activity of a mutant BCR-ABL, called T315I, which is one of the more predominant mutations seen in Gleevec-resistant patients.
Reddy and his research team sought instead to develop a drug that would circumvent all of the mutations and therefore all forms of resistance. They focused on other possible avenues to inhibit the actions of BCR-ABL. To do so, they targeted parts of the BCR-ABL protein that didn’t appear to be mutating and adapting to Gleevec.
“We developed ON012380, a compound that specifically inhibits BCR-ABL by blocking a different site in the protein, which is essential for its activity. As a result, ON012380 was found to induce cell death of all of the known Gleevec-resistant mutants and cause regression of leukemias in human tumor cells and in animal models,” said Reddy, who is currently seeking FDA approval to proceed with clinical trials. The drug is licensed to Onconova, Inc.
“Our drug works just like Gleevec but by blocking another part of the BCR-ABL protein. It can be combined with Gleevec to create synergy and when patients become resistant to Gleevec, our drug kills 100 percent of the cancer cells,” said Reddy.
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