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Zarnestra (tipifarnib) can help patients at high-risk for developing
AML
December 4-7, 2004. San Diego, California.
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The American Society of Hematology is the world's largest professional society concerned with the
management of blood disorders.
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SAN DIEGO - The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center offers
these news items presented at the annual meeting of the American Society
of Hematology (ASH).
An oral targeted therapy gentle enough to be used by patients in
their 70s or 80s is showing benefit in treating high-risk
myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), a pre-leukemic disorder that can
progress to acute myelogenous leukemia (AML), according to a study
presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology
(ASH).
The drug R115777 (Zarnestra) (tipifarnib) produced responses that
ranged from complete responses to improvement in blood counts in about
one-third of 82 patients treated at seven different hospitals in the
United States, Canada, and Europe, says the study's lead investigator,
Razelle Kurzrock, M.D., a professor in the Department of Experimental
Therapeutics at M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.
That level of response, as well as side effects that are well
tolerated, can be a boon to the mostly elderly patients who develop the
syndrome, Kurzrock says. "It is one more drug that can be tried to help
improve blood counts and prevent leukemia development in these
patients," she says.
At the time the study began, there was no approved therapy to treat
MDS, but recently, the FDA approved use of azacytidine (Vidaza), which
is a chemotherapy drug administered subcutaneously. Zarnestra helps
about as many patients as Vidaza, "but for diseases like this, you need
more than one drug because the syndrome is made up of numerous
subtypes," Kurzrock says. "If one drug doesn't help, then the other
might; or they could potentially be used together."
Zarnestra belongs to a group of drugs known as farnesyl transferase
inhibitors, which block enzymes needed for the activation of
cancer-promoting proteins. While the drug was initially believed to act
primarily on the ras gene, which is mutated in about 25 percent of MDS
patients, recent studies including this one demonstrate that patients
whose ras gene is normal can benefit, Kurzrock says. "It has become
apparent that Zarnestra regulates other important cancer genes, although
we don't know which ones they are."
ASH 2004: ABSTRACT #1436
Legal Disclaimer
The materials presented here were prepared by independent authors
under the editorial supervision of The Doctors Lounge, and do not represent a
publication of the American Society of Hematology. These
materials and the related activity are not sanctioned by the American
Society of Hematology or the commercial supporter of the
conference, and do not constitute an official part of that conference.
The material presented here does not reflect the views of The Doctors
Lounge or
the companies providing unrestricted educational grants. These materials
may discuss uses and dosages for therapeutic products that have not been
approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration. A qualified
health care professional should be consulted before using any
therapeutic product discussed. All readers or continuing education
participants should verify all information and data before treating
patients or employing any therapies described in this educational
activity.
Copyright ©? 2004 The Doctors Lounge.
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