 |  |  | | | SCIENTISTS TEST LEUKAEMIA DRUG | | | | |
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Release Date: 14th January 2002
Researchers at the Royal Free Hospital and University College London Hospitals in London are examining whether the much-hailed leukaemia drug Glivec can also be used to treat a different form of this life-threatening disease.
The UK's leading blood cancer charity, Leukaemia Research Fund (LRF), is investing £160,000 in the research, which forms part of a European-wide study on the treatment. Researchers will be testing the drug on patients who have an aggressive form of blood cancer called Philadelphia chromosome positive acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL).
At present, Glivec is given as a treatment for chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML), a disease that affects more than 500 adults each year in the UK. The drug targets a specific genetic error known as the Philadelphia chromosome, which is found in patients with CML.
The London-based scientists will be testing the effectiveness of the drug on adult ALL patients who have the Philadelphia chromosome. "We hope that Glivec will provide a new treatment option for these patients," says Professor Anthony Goldstone, who leads the UK arm of the new trial. "Until now it has been very difficult to treat these ALL patients."
Adult ALL patients with the Philadelphia chromosome often do not respond to conventional cancer-killing drugs. They often need a bone marrow transplant but sadly this is not always possible, either due to the age of the patient or because of the lack of a suitable donor.
Dr David Grant, Scientific Director of Leukaemia Research Fund, said: "Leukaemia still claims thousands of lives each year. It is vital that we invest money in this type of research so that new treatments can be given to patients as quickly as possible. Glivec is likely to be one of the first in a new class of therapies that target specific genetic errors in the body."
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