Posted by rob on January 31, 2006 under Uncategorized | 
Smita Deshmukh
Tuesday, January 31, 2006 01:06 IST
MUMBAI: It promises to be a boon for leukaemia patients as well as others looking for affordable anti-cancer drugs.
Gleevec, a drug used to treat chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML, blood cancer), will no longer be the exclusive property of Novartis AG, according to a recent ruling of the patents controller, Chennai.
The price of the drug had escalated from Rs10,000 to Rs1.2 lakh per bottle of 90 tablets after the Centre gave Novartis exclusive marketing rights for the drug.
This forced many of the 30,000 or so CML patients in the country to stop using it.
The patents controller, in his ruling, said Gleevec contains a beta crystalline form of the compound imatinib meyslate.
Arguing that the beta derivative does not show any significant improvement in efficacy over the original substance, the controller denied Novartis the patent.
The Cancer Patients Aid Association (CPAA), a city-based NGO, had contested Novartis’s application for the patent on imatinib meyslate.
While Novartis could sell Gleevec at Rs1.2 lakh a bottle, nine other manufacturers of imatinib meyslate, the drug’s generic version priced between Rs9,000 and Rs12,000 per bottle, were barred from producing it by a court injunction, forcing thousands of patients to resort to older drugs like Hydrea.
The ruling has brought relief to the NGO, which has 300 patients on the waiting list.
“It is a big victory for our patients, most of whom cannot afford these expensive drugs,” said YK Sapru, CPAA chairman. “We do provide drugs free of cost, but for how long can we do so with such prices?”
This is just the first step towards ensuring justice for patients, said Anand Grover, project director, Lawyer’s Collective, which represented the CPAA. “Drug control committees can further reduce the price of the generic version of Gleevec.”
The CPAA will now approach the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority to make drugs containing imatinib mesylate affordable
DNA – Mumbai – Anti-cancer drug becomes cheaper – Daily News & Analysis
Posted by rob on under Uncategorized |
By Maggie Fox, Health and Science CorrespondentMon Jan 30, 1:44 PM ET
Primary care — the basic medical care that people get when they visit their doctors for routine physicals and minor problems — could fall apart in the United States without immediate reforms, the American College of Physicians said on Monday.
“Primary care is on the verge of collapse,” said the organization, a professional group which certifies internists, in a statement. “Very few young physicians are going into primary care and those already in practice are under such stress that they are looking for an exit strategy.”
Dropping incomes coupled with difficulties in juggling patients, soaring bills and policies from insurers that encourage rushed office visits all mean that more primary care doctors are retiring than are graduating from medical school, the ACP said in its report.
The group has proposed a solution — calling on federal policymakers to approve new ways of paying doctors that would put primary care doctors in charge of organizing a patient’s care and giving patients more responsibility for monitoring their own health and scheduling regular visits.
U.S. doctors have long complained that reimbursement policies of both Medicare and private insurers reward a “just-in-time” approach, instead of preventive care that would save money and keep patients healthier.
“Medicare will pay tens of thousands of dollars … for a limb amputation on a diabetic patient, but virtually nothing to the primary care physician for keeping the patient’s diabetes under control,” said Bob Doherty, senior vice president for the
ACP.
The ACP plan called for innovations such as using e-mail to consult on minor and routine matters, freeing up expensive office visit time for when it is needed. Doctors would be compensated for an e-mail consultation.
The proposals include incentives for doctors to work more efficiently and to provide better care, ACP President Dr. C. Anderson Hedberg told a news conference. “ACP proposals would provide patients with access to care that is coordinated by their own personal physician,” Hedberg said.
YOUNG DOCTORS AVOIDING PRIMARY CARE
The ACP cited an American Medical Association survey that found 35 percent of all physicians nationwide are over the age of 55 and will soon retire.
In 2003, only 27 percent of third year internal medicine residents actually planned to practice internal medicine, the group said, with others planning to go into more lucrative specialty jobs.
“Primary care physicians — the bedrock of medical care for today and the future — are at the bottom of the list of all medical specialties in median income compensation,” the ACP said.
The group, which represents 119,000 doctors and medical students in general internal medicine and subspecialties, joins others that warn the U.S. health care system is untenable.
“If these reforms do not take place, within a few years there will not be enough primary care physicians to take care of an aging population with increasing incidences of chronic diseases,” said Dr. Vineet Arora, chair of the College’s Council of Associates.
Dr. Sara Walker, a Missouri physician, said she believed doctors were leaving general practice because of drops in Medicare reimbursement to doctors.
“A drop in Medicare payments will not only force me to stop taking Medicare patients but could force me out of business,” agreed Dr. Kevin Lutz, a solo practitioner in Denver.
Posted by rob on under Uncategorized |
By Maggie Fox, Health and Science CorrespondentMon Jan 30, 5:06 PM ET
Scientists have found blood stem cells hiding out in the edges of bone marrow, and said on Monday their finding could help ease lifesaving stem cell transplants for diseases such as cancer.
They invented a technique that makes it possible to see a stem cell alive in bone marrow — something never done before.
Scientists usually find the powerful but elusive cells by looking for proteins called markers that are active on the stem cells’ surfaces.
The cells are not clustered throughout bone marrow, as had been thought, but live alongside bone-forming cells on the edges of the marrow, the team at the University of Michigan Medical School and University of Tsukuba in Japan wrote in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
This might make transplants easier, said Dr. Doug Engel, who worked on the study. Currently doctors must remove large amounts of bone marrow from a donor and separate stem cells, which are infused into a sick patient.
“Maybe we can find a way to expand the stem cell population in the niche,” Engel said in a telephone interview.
“Then perhaps we can make human bone marrow harvests less invasive and less painful.”
Where the stem cells live might hold a key to their abilities to create all the different types of blood cells, Engel said.
FLUORESCENT GENE
To find the stem cells, Norio Suzuki and colleagues at the University of Tsukuba spliced a green fluorescent protein gene from jellyfish into two genes uniquely used by the blood stem cells, one called Gata-2, and a gene called IS that helps control Gata-2.
This made the stem cells glow under ultraviolet light. “We made a whole mouse that would express green fluorescent protein under the control of the Gata-2 gene promotor,” Engel said.
“We took time-lapse movies of frozen sections from mouse leg bone as seen under a fluorescent microscope,” Engel added.
“They clearly show individual, isolated hematopoietic stem cells at the edge of the bone marrow.”
When bone marrow stem cells, called hematopoietic stem cells, are transplanted, they proliferate, giving rise to immune cells and various other blood cells.
Scientists had presumed they circulated throughout the bone marrow. In fact, they sat still and in contact with osteoblasts — bone-forming cells.
In a second study in the same journal, another team of scientists said they found another unusual source of support for stem cells — prion proteins.
Prions are perhaps best known as the agents that, when misshapen, cause mad cow disease and related diseases. Mad cow disease, known scientifically as bovine spongiform encephalopathy, and similar diseases destroy the brains of other animals and humans.
Prions have a normal function too — but nobody knows what it is.
Susan Lindquist of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and colleagues found prion protein expressed, or active, in bone marrow stem cells. She said that means prions probably help blood stem cells during the transplant process and might serve as a marker to help find them.
Copyright © 2006 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.
Copyright © 2006 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.
Posted by rob on January 30, 2006 under Uncategorized |
By: JIM BAKER , Special to the Tribune
If you happen to see Brian Mallory these days and ask what he is up to he will tell you: “Just sitting around growing my eyebrows.” It’s proof that the last five months haven’t spoiled his sense of humor or positive outlook.
Advertisement
His lack of eyebrows, and hair for that matter, are battle scars from the fight for his life.
In early September while believing he was suffering from a stubborn bout with the flu, the 47-year-old Cass City resident was diagnosed with Leukemia. After review from several cancer specialists at the University of Michigan Hospital in Ann Arbor, and many painful tests, it was determined that he was suffering from Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia. CML, as it is referred to, is an acquired (not inherited) form of the disease, in which there is damage to DNA stem cells in the bone marrow. The damage will cause excess production of immature white cells and is very painful.
When faced with the diagnosis Mallory said, “I would not wish this for anyone, but if it can be beat, I’m the man for the job.”
As it turns out, Mallory has been the man for a lot of jobs, and has left his mark on the community in a lot of ways.
The long-time scoutmaster of Troop 595 in Cass City has been a steadying influence on many young men, guiding many of them to the rank of Eagle Scout. He has spent a lot of quality time not only with his kids Dustin and Derrick, but also with others who could not get that elsewhere.
If you should happen to pass the Elkland Township Cemetery, take notice of the stonework that supports the sign at the entrance. This is the handy-work of Brian and his wife, Renee. There are countless people around town who know that if they have a problem around the house that requires fixing, he is the man to call.
More than any other thing, Brian is the face of music in the Thumb area. He has played in several bands in the area since his high school days and has developed into one of the finest guitar players around. Not afraid to share his talents, he has offered guitar lessons and started some others down the road to a musical future. He has been a strong supporter of the Cass City High School band program and did significant research into music program impact on academics for help in a band director search.
These and many other contributions are the reason Mallory and his family have had an outpouring of support from the community. As is usually the case with this type of thing, he is humble about the support, yet if you ask his friends they will tell you he has done so much for others it’s about time he got something back.
As a result, a large group of his friends have planned a benefit for the Mallorys today at Cass City High School. The benefit will consist of a roast beef and pork dinner with all the trimmings in the cafeteria, featuring dinner music by the Cass City High School Jazz Band. In the gymnasium there will be an open JAM session for musicians who are friends or have played with Mallory in the past. The dinner will start at 1 p.m. and continue until 5 p.m. with the JAM from 2 to 6 p.m. Tickets can be secured at the door.
Thus far the prognosis for Mallory is excellent. He received a stem cell transplant the first part of December, from his brother, Jeff, a perfect match donor. The graft has taken and his chances of a full recovery are good, but it will be a long time before he will be in a position to earn a living. This will be a long, uphill battle, the most difficult of his life, but all things considered it sounds like he is the man for the job.
Jim Baker is a friend of Brian Mallory’s.
Huron Daily Tribune – News – 01/30/2006 – Benefit slated today for Cass City’s Brian Mallory
Posted by rob on under Uncategorized |
By: JIM BAKER , Special to the Tribune
If you happen to see Brian Mallory these days and ask what he is up to he will tell you: “Just sitting around growing my eyebrows.” It’s proof that the last five months haven’t spoiled his sense of humor or positive outlook.
|
Advertisement
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His lack of eyebrows, and hair for that matter, are battle scars from the fight for his life.
In early September while believing he was suffering from a stubborn bout with the flu, the 47-year-old Cass City resident was diagnosed with Leukemia. After review from several cancer specialists at the University of Michigan Hospital in Ann Arbor, and many painful tests, it was determined that he was suffering from Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia. CML, as it is referred to, is an acquired (not inherited) form of the disease, in which there is damage to DNA stem cells in the bone marrow. The damage will cause excess production of immature white cells and is very painful.
When faced with the diagnosis Mallory said, “I would not wish this for anyone, but if it can be beat, I’m the man for the job.”
As it turns out, Mallory has been the man for a lot of jobs, and has left his mark on the community in a lot of ways.
The long-time scoutmaster of Troop 595 in Cass City has been a steadying influence on many young men, guiding many of them to the rank of Eagle Scout. He has spent a lot of quality time not only with his kids Dustin and Derrick, but also with others who could not get that elsewhere.
If you should happen to pass the Elkland Township Cemetery, take notice of the stonework that supports the sign at the entrance. This is the handy-work of Brian and his wife, Renee. There are countless people around town who know that if they have a problem around the house that requires fixing, he is the man to call.
More than any other thing, Brian is the face of music in the Thumb area. He has played in several bands in the area since his high school days and has developed into one of the finest guitar players around. Not afraid to share his talents, he has offered guitar lessons and started some others down the road to a musical future. He has been a strong supporter of the Cass City High School band program and did significant research into music program impact on academics for help in a band director search.
These and many other contributions are the reason Mallory and his family have had an outpouring of support from the community. As is usually the case with this type of thing, he is humble about the support, yet if you ask his friends they will tell you he has done so much for others it’s about time he got something back.
As a result, a large group of his friends have planned a benefit for the Mallorys today at Cass City High School. The benefit will consist of a roast beef and pork dinner with all the trimmings in the cafeteria, featuring dinner music by the Cass City High School Jazz Band. In the gymnasium there will be an open JAM session for musicians who are friends or have played with Mallory in the past. The dinner will start at 1 p.m. and continue until 5 p.m. with the JAM from 2 to 6 p.m. Tickets can be secured at the door.
Thus far the prognosis for Mallory is excellent. He received a stem cell transplant the first part of December, from his brother, Jeff, a perfect match donor. The graft has taken and his chances of a full recovery are good, but it will be a long time before he will be in a position to earn a living. This will be a long, uphill battle, the most difficult of his life, but all things considered it sounds like he is the man for the job.
Jim Baker is a friend of Brian Mallory’s.
Huron Daily Tribune – News – 01/30/2006 – Benefit slated today for Cass City’s Brian Mallory
Posted by rob on January 29, 2006 under Uncategorized |
Nitric oxide (NO) induces differentiation and apoptosis in acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) cells. The NO prodrug O(2)-(2,4-dinitrophenyl)1-[(4-ethoxycarbonyl)piperazin-1-yl]diazen-1-ium-1,2-diolate, or JS-K, has potent antileukemic activity. JS-K induces apoptosis in HL-60 cells by a caspase-dependent mechanism. The purpose of this study was to determine the pathway through which JS-K induces apoptosis. We show that JS-K alters mitochondrial membrane potential (DeltaPsi(m)) and induces cytochrome c release from mitochondria into the cytoplasm. Treatment with JS-K resulted in activation of Caspase (Casp) 9, Casp 3 and Casp 8. JS-K constitutes a promising lead for a new class of anti-leukemic agents.
JS-K, a nitric oxide prodrug, induces cytochrome c release and caspase activation in HL-60 myeloid leukemia cells.
Posted by rob on January 28, 2006 under Uncategorized |
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society will be hosting a free telephone education program for CML patients, caregivers and healthcare professionals.
“Maximizing CML Treatment Outcomes: The Importance of Taking Medications Properly”
Speaker:
Michael J. Mauro, MD
Assistant Professor,
Center for Hematologic Malignancies
Oregon Caner Institute
Oregon Health & Science University
Portland, OR
Thursday, February 23, 2006
12 p.m. – 1 p.m. Central
CML Hope members can join the conference by registering online at http://cml.tlls.org or calling toll-free (866) 992-9950, ext. 303.
Registration must be received by February 17, 2006
Posted by rob on under Uncategorized |
Rea D,
Legros L,
Raffoux E,
Thomas X,
Turlure P,
Maury S,
Dupriez B,
Pigneux A,
Choufi B,
Reman O,
Stéphane D,
Royer B,
Vigier M,
Ojeda-Uribe M,
Recher C,
Dombret H,
Huguet F,
Rousselot P
Imatinib combined with high-dose chemotherapy is now becoming the gold standard for treatment of Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute leukemias. However, in all studies imatinib dosage was tapered to 400-600 mg per day. We decided to initiate a clinical trial to evaluate an opposite strategy based on high-dose imatinib (800 mg per day) combined with a less intensive chemotherapeutic regimen (vincristine and dexamethasone), which we called the DIV induction regimen. Thirty-one patients (18 relapsing or refractory Ph+ acute lymphoblastic leukemias and 13 lymphoid blast crisis chronic myelogenous leukemias) were enrolled. Complete remission (CR) was obtained in 28 out of 30 assessable patients. The median bcr-abl/abl ratio after the induction course was 0.1%. Median time to neutrophil recovery was 21 days. Fungus infections were observed in six patients out of 31 and possibly related to dexamethasone. Neuropathy due to vincristine was noted in 14 cases. Nine out of 19 patients under 55 years received allogenic stem cell transplantation after a median time of 78 days post-CR. Patients older than 55 years experienced a 90% CR rate without additional toxicities, suggesting the DIV regimen may also be proposed as a front line therapy in older patients.Leukemia advance online publication, 26 January 2006; (2006) doi:10.1038/sj.leu.2404115.
High-dose imatinib mesylate combined with vincristine and dexamethasone (DIV regimen) as induction therapy in patients with resistant Philadelphia-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia and lymphoid blast crisis of chronic myeloid leukemia.
Posted by rob on January 27, 2006 under Uncategorized |
Recently, large deletions adjacent to the Philadelphia (Ph) translocation breakpoint on the derivative chromosome 9 have been reported to be found in a substantial number of patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML). The existence of der(9) deletion is reported as a powerful indicator of a poor prognosis. So far, der(9) deletion is considered to be generated when the Ph translocation occurs, because when der(9) deletion is found, it is detected in all the Ph-positive (Ph+) cells of a particular CML patient. On FISH examination of 47 Vietnamese CML patients, we found 11 patients carrying der(9) deletion. Among these, two patients harbored Ph+ metaphase cells with der(9) deletion and also Ph+ cells without it. In CML patients with der(9) deletion, reportedly no ABL/BCR transcript is detected. In these two patients, the proportion of Ph+ cells without der(9) deletion was much smaller than that of the cells with der(9) deletion. Nevertheless, we detected a ABL/BCR (1b-b4) transcript in the two patients. This is further evidence for the existence of Ph+ cells without der(9) deletion. It is possible that in some CML patients, der(9) deletion is generated in the progression of the disease.
Coexistence of Philadelphia chromosome positive cells with and without der(9) deletion in a patient with chronic myelogenous leukemia.
Posted by rob on under Uncategorized |
Imatinib mesylate has become the gold standard front-line treatment of chronic myelogenous leukemia through its ability to inhibit ABL tyrosyne kinase. Resistance to this inhibition may occur. We investigated the role of the K247R polymorphism in persistent sensitivity.
The role of the K247R substitution in the ABL tyrosine kinase domain in sensitivity to imatinib.
Posted by rob on under Uncategorized |
Yang H,
Eaves C,
de Lima M,
Lee MS,
Champlin RE,
McMannis JD,
Robinson SN,
Niu T,
Decker WK,
Xing D,
Ng J,
Li S,
Yao X,
Eaves AC,
Jones R,
Andersson BS,
Shpall EJ
Imatinib-refractory chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) patients can experience long-term disease-free survival with myeloablative therapy and allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation; however, associated complications carry a significant risk of mortality. Transplantation of autologous hematopoietic cells has a reduced risk of complications, but residual tumor cells in the autograft may contribute to relapse. Development of methods for purging tumor cells that do not compromise the engraftment potential of the normal hematopoietic cells in the autograft has been a long-standing goal. Since primitive CML cells differentiate more rapidly in vitro than their normal counterparts and are also preferentially killed by mafosfamide and imatinib, we examined the purging effectiveness on CD34(+) CML cells using a strategy that combines a brief exposure to imatinib (0.5-1.0 muM for 72 h) and then mafosfamide (30-90 mug/ml for 30 min) followed by 2 weeks in culture with cytokines (100 ng/ml each of stem cell factor, granulocyte colony-stimulating factor and thrombopoietin). Treatment with 1.0 muM imatinib, 60 mug/ml mafosfamide and 14 days of culture with cytokines eliminated BCR-ABL(+) cells from chronic phase CML patient aphereses, while preserving normal progenitors. This novel purging strategy may offer a new approach to improving the effectiveness of autologous transplantation in imatinib-refractory CML patients.Bone Marrow Transplantation advance online publication, 23 January 2006; doi:10.1038/sj.bmt.1705284.
A novel triple purge strategy for eliminating chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) cells from autografts.
Posted by rob on January 26, 2006 under Uncategorized |
Updated: 1/26/2006 6:30:25 AM
By: Jennifer Matthews, News 14 Carolina
Gastrointestinal stromal tumors, or GISTs for short, affect up to 10,000 Americans each year. For the past few years, Gleevec has been known as the wonder drug for these patients, but it can stop working.
Now, researchers are looking to the next generation of drugs to save lives.
The game of life took a devastating turn for Rudolph Russo when he was diagnosed with the digestive tract cancer.
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Rudolph Russo says sutent has given him a chance to spend more time with is grandchildren. |
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“There are mornings when I say, ‘Damn it, that’s the end of this,’ then I’ll wake up and get back doing what I am supposed to be doing,” he said.
For a few years, the drug Gleevec kept Russo’s cancer in check. But like many patients, he became resistant.
“It was therefore really more painful when the resistance came on because people came back from the brink of death, and then to have the resistance build up and have the tumors come back was particularly painful,” George Demetri, an oncologist from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, said.
Now, Russo takes the drug Sutent as part of a clinical trial. Demetri says unlike Gleevec, Sutent shuts down the growth of blood vessels that feed the cancer.
“The new drug is able to shut down not just one signal in the cells but multiple signals,” he said.
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Unlike Gleevec, Sutent shuts down the growth of blood vessels that feed the cancer. |
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In his study, patients who took the new drug lived almost twice as long as those who didn’t. Russo says it has given him precious time with his grandkids.
“This is a drug that is keeping me alive,? he said. ?If I did not do anything, I would be dead.?
He’s a fighter and Sutent has given him another chance to prove it.
Doctors believe Sutent can help fight other diseases like kidney and breast cancer.
Sutent is now in the process of getting approved by the FDA. The drug does pose side effects, like thinning of the skin, diarrhea and nausea.
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BACKGROUND:
About 21,860 new cases of stomach cancer were diagnosed in 2005, according to the American Cancer Society. About 11,550 people will die of this disease. Stomach cancer is more common in older populations. Two-thirds of the people found to have stomach cancer are older than age 65. Some of the risk factors for stomach cancer include being male, smoking, alcohol abuse and ethnicity. The rate of stomach cancer is higher in Hispanics and blacks than in non-Hispanic whites. The highest rates are seen in Asian/Pacific Islanders. Some doctors believe the bacteria Helicobacter pylori, a common cause of stomach ulcers, is a major contributor to stomach cancer. Also, the Epstein Barr virus, the virus that causes mono, has been found in some stomach cancers. Scientists believe most of the causes of stomach cancer are things that happen after birth. This cancer is not usually hereditary.
GASTROINTESTINAL STROMAL TUMORS:
Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) are a rare subset of stomach cancer. Researchers believe they form from cells in the wall of the stomach called interstitial cells of Cajal. These cancers can be found anywhere in the intestinal tract. About 5,000 people will be diagnosed with this type of stomach cancer each year.
TREATMENT:
Treatment for GIST includes surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. The drug Gleevec, originally used to treat patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia, has also been useful in the treatment of this disease. Gleevec, or imatinib mesylate, blocks the tumor cells’ ability to grow and divide. However, Gleevec is not a long-term solution for cancers. The affects seem to wear off after about two years.
NEW TREATMENT:
Doctors at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston are testing the effectiveness of a new drug called SUTENT/SU11248 (sunitinib malate). The drug more than doubled survival and significantly reduced tumor growth and spread in a Phase III study. George Demetri, M.D., of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, says the drug works by telling the body to turn off the growth of blood vessels to the tumor. “It actually shuts off those signals, so the body doesn’t feed those cancers,” says Dr. Demetri. Results from a study of more than 300 GIST patients resistant to or intolerant of the standard treatment of Gleevec, showed Sutent significantly prolonged the time to tumor progression. It took a little more than six months for tumors to start growing again with Sutent. It took just one and a half months for tumors to start growing again for patients in the control groups. Sutent also reduced the risk of death by about 50 percent compared to placebo. This new drug may be used to treat other cancers in the future. It has been tested on breast cancer and kidney cancer. As of December 2005, the FDA has not yet approved this drug for widespread use.
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Copyright © 2006 TWEAN d.b.a. News 14 Carolina
News 14 Carolina | 24 Hour Local News | TOP STORIES | Doctors look for the new wonder drug
Posted by rob on under Uncategorized |
By Cynthia Beaudette of the Muscatine Journal
TAYLOR RIDGE, Ill. – The tears Brandi Osborn shed as she neared the finish line of the 26.2-mile Walt Disney Marathon on Jan. 8 weren’t from physical exertion.
They were a symbol of the joy the Taylor Ridge, Ill., resident felt as her months of hope and hard work turned to triumph.
Osborn was unsure she could complete the challenge of walking the trek as she prepared to be part of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Team in Training.
The team gathers pledges to participate in the annual walk and donates that money to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
Osborn said the strong spirit of encouragement coming from the crowd as she was finishing filled her with emotion.
Among the calls of hundreds of well-wishers Osborn, 53, recalls a strong voice that rose above the sea of cheers.
“One man said, ‘Hey Brandi from Illinois, I’m a soldier from Kankakee, (Ill.) I just got back from Iraq and I haven’t been home yet,’” Osborn said.
“I told him, ‘Well, you’re a hero,’ and he said, ‘Not today. Today, you’re a hero.’”
Osborn’s seven hour and 14 minute journey began in October 2004, after her brother, Randy Osborn, her aunt, Jane Mitchell, and an uncle to her daughter Tracey Burke, Jim Whitehall, all died of cancer within two weeks of each other.
Osborn and Burke, 36, were saddened, but they wanted to direct their grief in a positive direction. That’s when the mother and daughter decided to help other people who are still fighting their battle with cancer by joining the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Team in Training.
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, a national, voluntary health agency, helped finance the development of a new drug called Gleevec which can normalize white blood cells in cancer patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia. The society also helps people undergoing treatment for leukemia and lymphoma pay for expenses related to their medical care.
Osborn and Burke of Edgington, Ill., worked out together through the fall of 2005 between their work hours. Osborn is employed at the Edgington Hardware Store and Burke works at Heinz in Muscatine. But health problems prevented Burke from making the walk.
Osborn said she received encouragement and helpful information from professional runner and coach, Adam White of Peoria, who donated his expertise as Osborn’s trainer for the event.
The walk was the final part of the challenge.
Prospective walkers must collect $3,400 in pledges to participate and those don’t collect enough, give what they do have to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
Larry McDowell, owner of Dooley’s Sports Bar in Andalusia, Ill., helped Osborn stage a fund-raiser there in October which helped put her over the top.
In all, she raised $4,000 for the society.
When she returned from Florida, McDowell and his wife presented Osborn with a custom-made trophy he ordered for her.
“He hugged me and told me how proud he and his wife Carol were,” said Osborn.
Team in Training members walk for a patient honoree, which is someone who has battled leukemia, lymphoma, myeloma or Hodgkin’s disease.
Osborn represented Edgington resident Marvin Keller, who was diagnosed with lymphoma.
The experience also provided Osborn with the opportunity to begin another important relationship. Media coverage of Osborn’s ambition to be in the marathon reached New Mexico and Osborn’s step-sister, Jean Shepard, whom Osborn had never met.
“When my real dad died, my stepfather, Dick Osborn, adopted me,” said Osborn. Dick Osborn, who died in 1988, had children from a previous marriage that Brandi hadn’t met, including Jean Shepard. “We got in touch because she read the article on the Internet, and it has meant so much to me over these past months,” said Osborn.
Osborn said she doesn’t know if she’ll do another marathon next year, but she does plan to take to the track again. And she said she’d be happy to have others join her.
Contact Cynthia Beaudette at: 563-263-2331 Ext. 323 or cynthia.beaudette@muscatinejournal.com
MuscatineJournal.com
Posted by rob on January 24, 2006 under Uncategorized |
Time to Response to Gleevec® in Chronic Myeloid Leukemia Does Not Affect Outcomes
According to a recent article published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, the time it takes for a patient to achieve an anticancer response to Gleevec (imatinib) does not appear to affect outcomes; patients who achieved responses within one year or after one year of therapy achieved the same survival outcomes.
Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), also called chronic granulocytic leukemia, is a cancer that originates in the immune cells. It affects approximately 4,600 people annually in the U.S.
In the case of CML, large numbers of young immune cells do not mature, resulting in an excess accumulation of these cells. These leukemia cells then crowd the bone marrow and blood, suppressing formation and function of other blood cells normally present in these areas. In addition, the leukemia cells cannot perform their function in the body properly, which leaves patients susceptible to infection.
Chronic myeloid leukemia begins with a chronic phase, during which few clinical problems, if any, occur. However, when left untreated, the chronic phase progresses into acute phases; these phases are characterized by fast-growing and aggressive cancer and are called the accelerated and blastic phases. Patients reaching these acute phases have a poor prognosis for long-term survival.
Historically, the only curative option for patients with CML was an allogeneic stem cell transplant. However, treatment-related mortality, as well as side effects, can be substantial in patients undergoing an allogeneic stem cell transplant; researchers have thus focused efforts on curative treatment options that are more easily tolerated.
The majority of CML cases are Philadelphia chromosome-positive. In such cases, a genetic abnormality, referred to as the Philadelphia chromosome, results in the constantly activated growth of cancer cells.
Gleevec is a biological agent that binds to and slows or stops the uncontrolled growth of cancer cells with the Philadelphia chromosome. In addition, Gleevec has activity in several biological pathways implicated in the development and/or expression of cancer. An advantage of Gleevec over interferon alfa, another drug used to treat CML, is that Gleevec produces few side effects.
Researchers from Italy recently analyzed data to determine if patients who achieved a cytogenetic response (measure of active Philadelphia-chromosome positive cells) to Gleevec within one year of treatment have improved outcomes compared to those who achieve a cytogenetic response to Gleevec after one year of treatment.
The study included 284 patients with chronic-phase Philadelphia-positive CML who were treated with Gleevec following disease progression after treatment with interferon. Patients remained on treatment with Gleevec as long as their disease did not progress.
The time to a cytogenetic response with Gleevec did not impact overall outcomes. Patients who achieved a cytogenic response within one year of treatment with Gleevec were referred to as early responders, and late responders were those who achieved a cytogenetic response after one year of treatment with Gleevec.
- Four-year estimates of progression-free survival were 88% for early responders and 100% for late responders.
- Four-year estimates of overall survival rates were 92% for early responders and 100% for late responders.
The researchers concluded that patients with CML who achieve a cytogenetic response after one year of treatment with Gleevec have outcomes similar to those of patients who achieve these responses within one year of treatment; this indicates that a long-term course of treatment with Gleevec may provide impressive long-term survival among these patients.
Reference: Iacobucci I, Rosti G, Amabile M, et al. Comparison Between Patients With Philadelphia-Positive Chronic Phase Chronic Myeloid Leukemia Who Obtained a Complete Cytogenetic Response Within 1 Year of Imatinib Therapy and Those Who Achieved Such a Response After 12 Months of Treatment. Journal of Clinical Oncology. 2006;24: 454-459.
Related News: Treatment with Gleevec® Continues to Show Benefits in CML (12/28/05)
© 1998-2006 CancerConsultants.com All Rights Reserved.
Time to Response to Gleevec® in Chronic Myeloid Leukemia Does Not Affect Outcomes
Posted by rob on January 22, 2006 under Uncategorized |
By ROSE COX
Anchorage Daily News
Published: January 22, 2006
Last Modified: January 22, 2006 at 05:18 AM
Beverly Wooley weathered a double mastectomy, 29 weeks of chemotherapy and 33 radiation treatments after being diagnosed with breast cancer in August 2004.
But it was the lymphedema — a swelling of the soft tissues after removal of lymph nodes — that really got her down.
“After you’ve been through so much, you just want to get better,” she said. “It was a constant, nagging area.”
Wooley’s oncologist, Dr. Jeanne Anderson, encouraged her to research alternative therapies but also cautioned her.
“She had seen and heard of people who had received massage from someone who didn’t really understand the physiology and anatomy involved with lymphedema, and they had made it worse,” Wooley said.
Wooley’s research and word of mouth led her to Jamie Elswick, a local specialist in oncology massage. Wooley points to her weekly appointments, begun during radiation treatments, as the single thing that made her feel better.
Elswick addressed the pain in Wooley’s left arm through lymphatic drainage massage and helped increase her range of motion through her work on scar tissue.
“All that has played into an overall healthier mental outlook” during recovery, Wooley said.
Elswick, the owner of Northern Raven Massage, was a licensed massage therapist for years before she trained to work with complicated cancer cases through the Scherer Institute of Natural Healing in Santa Fe, N.M. She has since completed the institute’s nationally certified course for oncology massage teachers.
She is working with her mentor at Scherer, Gayle MacDonald, a pioneer in oncology massage in this country, to research the effects of massage on scar tissue for the revised edition of MacDonald’s book “Medicine Hands.”
CHANGING TREND
Massage as a means to aid healing fell out of favor in the United States after powerful painkillers were developed in the 1940s. That trend has been changing over the past decade or so. Alternative therapies are undergoing a revival, with some large hospitals employing licensed massage therapists on staff.
Historically, oncologists advised their patients to avoid massage entirely, fearing it could cause cancer cells to metastasize or travel to other areas and begin new tumors.
“There are still massage schools that teach students not to touch patients going through cancer treatment,” Elswick said. “But research in molecular biology has improved our understanding about how cancer begins and spreads through the body.” Rather than ban all massage for cancer patients, the current thinking is to avoid deep-tissue massage and train therapists to deal with the many variables presented by cancer patients.
In a 2003 survey of 219 hospitals that offer massage therapy, the American Hospital Association found that 17 percent provided the therapy for cancer patients. Numerous large-scale studies on the benefits of massage are being conducted at U.S. hospitals.
Small, randomized studies by the Touch Research Institutes, University of Miami School of Medicine, have shown an increase in dopamine levels, natural killer cells and lymphocytes in women with breast cancer who received 30-minute sessions three times a week for five weeks.
Other small-scale studies on people with all sorts of types of cancer indicate patients receiving massage may experience a decrease in pain perception, nausea, fatigue, anxiety and depression.
ALASKA INROADS
Elswick is on the cutting edge of this trend in Alaska, with her efforts to bring alternative therapies to cancer patients. In addition to teaching oncology massage on the West Coast and in Scotland, she leads a class at University of Alaska Anchorage as an adjunct teacher. About 40 local licensed massage therapists have completed the course, and Elswick said eight local therapists now offer oncology massage through their practices. Two of her former students are training at Sherer, she said.
At Providence Alaska Medical Center, Elswick and her team of students volunteer free comfort massage to oncology patients. Elswick instituted the program using protocols from Oregon Health Sciences University, where she received her hospital training.
“I saw there was such a need here that I came back and set up the volunteer staff at Providence,” she said.
Elswick’s team has been well-received, said Cheryl Howdyshell, volunteer services director for the hospital. An inpatient at Providence must have doctor’s orders to allow the service.
“It’s very technical in terms of what kind of massage they do and how they do it for patients in the oncology area,” Howdyshell said. Much of the feedback has been requests for more volunteers.
“It’s been exciting to be involved with Jamie and this program,” Howdyshell said. “She’s gone way out there to try to make something happen for folks. I think this is an area that’s really going to grow in the future.”
CHOOSING A THERAPIST
Surgery, chemotherapy and radiation save lives, but their wide-ranging side effects on cancer patients can seem intolerable.
Treatment lowers blood counts and immune function and can have a negative impact on digestion and a host of other bodily functions. Pain, fatigue, nausea, anxiety and depression can become an everyday part of life. Many suffer with long-term damage to the lymphatic system and scarring from surgery and radiation.
These and other factors specific to the type of cancer and necessary treatment make it important for cancer patients to choose therapists trained in oncology massage. They can assess their clients’ medical situation and can navigate surgery sites and infusion ports that allow delivery of powerful cancer-killing drugs. They understand the need to keep the massage area sterile to protect patients, whose white blood cell counts can be lowered by treatment, leaving them vulnerable to infection.
Mary Bakic, 66, has been a client of Elswick’s through four bouts of cancer over a decade, the most recent a second instance of breast cancer. Before her first diagnosis, with kidney cancer in 1995, she sought massage as a stress reliever. She credits massage during cancer treatment for preventing lymphedema, helping her sleep, and reducing fatigue and pain.
“Some of the medications cause bone pain, and massage definitely helps,” Bakic said. “It relieves stress; if your body is stressed, everything’s more painful.”
Dr. Tammy Pickett, a family practitioner at Alaska Native Medical Center, has been on both sides of the fence.
When she was pregnant with her second child, she was diagnosed with chronic myelogenous leukemia, a blood cancer, in February 2002. She began seeing Elswick about six months before receiving a bone marrow transplant at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle.
“When you’re diagnosed with something as serious and life-changing as cancer, you want there to be a miracle cure,” she said. “But there was no magic bullet.”
Weekly massage helped her relax and sleep better, and it reduced some of the puffiness she experienced from chemotherapy treatments.
“I knew massage was not harmful,” she said. “I felt it was one of the things I could do that was really positive for my body.”
Pickett, who sometimes encounters cancer patients through her practice, is supportive of those who seek alternative therapies to support their treatment. But she, too, cautions them.
“I think it should be done by someone who is experienced,” she said, “so they know what to look for and what to be concerned about.”
Daily News reporter Rose Cox can be reached at rcox@adn.com.
adn.com | alaska : Cancer patients find relief in specialized massage
Posted by rob on under Uncategorized |
GREG LACOUR
Judith Teele doesn’t want your sympathy.
She doesn’t want to see what she calls “this hang-dog look” that crosses people’s faces when they learn that her son, Hank, her first child, died of acute lymphoblasticleukemia at age 2 in 1972.
But she’s willing to tell people the story. At 61, the Morganton resident has learned that revealing personal matters — something a lady of her generation and upbringing just doesn’t do — can lead to something good.
So here it is: Her son’s death led her to raise money for leukemia research. Her love of cycling has helped keep her healthy. In March, Teele will begin a two-month, 3,098-mile bicycle trek across the country for a Boston cancer institute with a goal of curing leukemia.
She’s seeking donations, all of which she plans to send to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. So she can’t afford to be shy about what she’s doing and why.
“It’s not that I didn’t want to talk about my son’s death but that the world I grew up in told me that you just don’t talk about your problems in public, you just don’t go parading your problems in the public arena. I still feel a little squeamish about doing it,” Teele said.
“People just get this hang-dog look on their faces. It is tragic, but it’s not altogether tragic. Life goes on.”
Hank appeared to be a healthy boy after his birth in 1969. But one day, near Labor Day 1971, he fell and developed a bruise that wouldn’t go away. Teele was puzzled, then alarmed: The fall hadn’t been that bad, but the bruise was. The doctors diagnosed leukemia. The disease worked quickly. Hank died seven months later, on March 29, 1972.
Teele overcame her grief and had two more children soon after with her husband, Morganton attorney Dockery Teele Jr. — Walker, now 33, who lives in Durham, and a daughter, Nan, 32, who lives in Boston. Teele developed her own career as a free-lance public relations consultant and, when she could, raised money locally for leukemia research organizations.
She stayed active, too, running until her early 40s, when, she said, “everything hurt.” So she switched to cycling. Eventually, she lit upon the idea of combining her two interests.
The idea came in 2001, when she and five other women undertook a long bike race to benefit AIDS research. She loved it so much, she began looking for an organization she could raise money for through cycling. Then, last year, she found it through a longtime friend.
Teele had known Mary Helen Jones for decades, since the two women lived in Morganton, where their children attended school together. In 1993, Jones was diagnosed with chronic myelogenous leukemia, a rare cancer of the bone marrow.
Her situation was dire until she sought treatment at Dana-Farber, which was pioneering the use of an experimental drug called Gleevec. Her condition improved. Jones, who now lives in Charlotte, travels to Boston twice a year for checkups and more medicine, and she knew her friend was looking for a more personal connection to her fundraising idea.
This was it.
“I think very few women her age could do what she’s doing,” Jones said. “I think it’s a fabulous undertaking. It’s the kind of thing people wish or hope they could do but never do it. Judy is the kind of person who’ll do it.”
It won’t be easy. The trip, from San Diego to St. Augustine, Fla., will take 58 days, including only eight days for rest. It’s being organized by WomanTours, a cycling organization that encourages participants in their tours to ride for a cause. Teele will take the trip with 24 other women, each with her own organization to support.
“I’m somewhat amazed that she has the energy to put into it,” Dockery Teele Jr. said. “I’m impressed that she has what it takes to undertake something like this, as well as the reasons she’s doing it.”
If the experience is anything like her last fundraising bike trip, she said, the effort will be worth it.
“All of us who did the ride were inspired and touched,” Teele said. “And it made an adventure-based experience that much more meaningful, because we were doing something not just for ourselves but for others.”
Want to Donate?
To make a tax-deductible donation to support Judith Teele’s ride for leukemia research, you can send money to The EmbraceLife Fund, Grace Episcopal Church, Morganton 28655. The fund will provide a tax receipt.
Greg Lacour: (828) 324-0055
Charlotte Observer | 01/22/2006 | Leukemia’s pedaling foe
Posted by rob on under Uncategorized |
The AMN107 And BMS354825 groups are now open again on Google.
The 2 groups are for those participating and interested in those important
clinical trials.
You can subscribe to our 3 Google groups as follows:
AMN107-subscribe@googlegroups.com
BMS354825-subscribe@googlegroups.com
CMLHOPE-subscribe@googlegroups.com
Rob
Posted by rob on January 21, 2006 under Uncategorized |
Eller P, Pechlaner C, Wiedermann CJ
Thromb J. 2006 Jan 18; 4(1): 1
ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: For patients with a normal coagulation system, who experience serious bleeding, sound evidence for recombinant activated factor VII (rFVIIa) as an effective haemostatic agent is only scarcely available so far from controlled clinical trials. In systematic reviews on the clinical use of rFVIIa, treatment failures were only rarely reported. CASE PRESENTATION: We present a 45-year old, Caucasian male with persistent intestinal bleeding due to enterocolitis associated with cytomegalovirus infection and acute graft-versus-host-disease. He had received allogeneic peripheral blood stem cell transplantation from an unrelated HLA-identical donor because of chronic myelogenous leukaemia diagnosed two years earlier. Bleeding started at day 18 after transplantation with bloody diarrhea, which was treated with multiple transfusions of fresh frozen plasma, platelet, and red blood cell concentrates, and continued relentlessly, despite all efforts, including continued transfusions, high-dose prednisolone, broad antibiotic and antiviral coverage, and tranexamic acid. Recombinant FVIIa was started at boluses of 90-120 ug/kg every 4-8 hours. Despite more than 10 doses, recurrent severe bleeding progressed to refractory shock, multiorgan failure and death. CONCLUSIONS: Little can be concluded from single case reports of clinical improvement, because publication bias in favour of positive effects is likely. Our case suggests that rFVIIa is not a panacea, in particular for severe bleeding after bone-marrow transplantation. As long as rigorous, controlled studies or comprehensive registries are lacking, conventional interventions remain the standard of care in non-haemophilic patients with severe bleeding.
Ineffective off-label use of recombinant activated factor VII in a case of bone-marrow transplantation-related gastrointestinal bleeding.
Posted by rob on under Uncategorized |
Hosoya N, Sanada M, Nannya Y, Nakazaki K, Wang L, Hangaishi A, Kurokawa M, Chiba S, Ogawa S
Genes Chromosomes Cancer. 2006 Jan 19;
Chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) evolves from an indolent chronic phase (CP) characterized by the Philadelphia chromosome. Without effective therapy, it progresses to an accelerated phase (AP) and eventually to a fatal blast crisis (BC). To identify the genes involved in stage progression in CML, we performed a genomewide screening of DNA copy number changes in a total of 55 CML patients in different stages with the use of the high-resolution array-based comparative genomic hybridization (array CGH) technique. We constructed Human 1M arrays that contained 3,151 bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) DNAs, allowing for an average resolution of 1.0 Mb across the entire genome. In addition to common chromosomal abnormalities, array CGH analysis unveiled a number of novel copy number changes. These alterations included losses in 2q26.2-q37.3, 5q23.1-q23.3, 5q31.2-q32, 7p21.3-p11.2, 7q31.1-q31.33, 8pter-p12(p11.2), 9p, and 22q13.1-q13.31 and gains in 3q26.2-q29, 6p22.3, 7p15.2-p14.3, 8p12, 8p21.3, 8p23.2, 8q24.13-q24.21, 9q, 19p13.2-p12, and 22q13.1-q13.32 and occurred at a higher frequency in AP and BC. Minimal copy number changes affecting even a single BAC locus were also identified. Our data suggests that at least a proportion of CML patients carry still-unknown cryptic genomic alterations that could affect a gene or genes of importance in the disease progression of CML. This article contains Supplementary Material available at http://www.interscience.wiley.com/jpages/1045-2257/suppmat. (c) 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Genomewide screening of DNA copy number changes in chronic myelogenous leukemia with the use of high-resolution array-based comparative genomic hybridization.
