Blood cancer drug trial is a success
Researchers from the University of Leicester and Leicester’s Hospitals announced a breakthrough in the world-first clinical trial of a new drug to treat particular blood cancers.
Results of an international clinical trial led by Dr Harriet Walter and Professor Martin Dyer from the Ernest and Helen Scott Haematological Research Institute at the University of Leicester and from the Leicester Royal Infirmary have just been published in the journal Blood.
This clinical trial, a first-in-human study, looked at the efficacy of a new inhibitor, ONO/GS-4059, in the treatment of Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia and Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma patients refractory or resistant to current chemotherapies.
ONO/GS-4059 targets BTK, a protein essential for the survival and proliferation of the tumour cells.
This study opened in January 2012 and 90 patients were enrolled in different centres in the UK and in France, with 28 coming from Leicester. Patients with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia showed the best response and most of them are still on the study after 3 years, and remarkably without notable toxicities.
The success story of this drug, has paved the way for its future development in combination studies, which will be opening to recruitment shortly in Leicester.
The next step is now to see how best we can improve on these outstanding results. A further study using this drug in combination with additional targeted agents is shortly to open in Leicester with the aim of achieving cure.
Category: Pharmaceuticals, Top Story
