Asparaginase News and Research

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Asparaginase is a drug which is given at the same time as chemotherapy drugs. It is an enzyme which deprives leukaemia cells of essential nutrients so that they die.

Novel therapeutic approach identified for overcoming resistance in B-cell leukemia

Despite having an overall survival rate of 94%, B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL), the most common childhood cancer, can prove challenging to treat, with survival among relapsed or resistant cases falling between 30-50%.

8 Apr 2024

Hidden identity of blood cancer revealed

Leukemia is a common term used to refer to a form of blood cancer. However, there are different types of leukemia depending on the cell type involved.

9 Jan 2024

St. Jude Children's researchers better define hyperdiploidy in childhood B-ALL

Hyperdiploidy is a genetic condition observed in cancer cells, where the cells contain more chromosomes than usual.

20 Sep 2023

Elevated BMI associated with inferior outcomes to treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukemia

As the United States faces a growing obesity epidemic, scientists are taking a closer look at how body weight can affect health outcomes.

11 Jul 2023

Vitamin A-rich diet may reduce risk of developing asparaginase-associated pancreatitis in ALL patients

Consuming a diet rich in vitamin A or its analogs may help prevent children and young adults with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) reduce their risk of developing painful pancreas inflammation during chemotherapy treatment.

15 Mar 2023

Study describes the variations in drug response across genetic subtypes of childhood leukemia

Scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital are reporting the most comprehensive study to date describing the variations in drug response across different genetic subtypes of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).

5 Jan 2023

Novel approach could pave the way for new treatments to prevent relapse in breast cancer patients

Cambridge scientists have managed to identify and kill those breast cancer cells that evade standard treatments in a study in mice.

20 Dec 2022

FDA approves alternative component of chemotherapy regimen to treat acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Rylaze (asparaginase erwinia chrysanthemi (recombinant)-rywn) as a component of a chemotherapy regimen to treat acute lymphoblastic leukemia and lymphoblastic lymphoma in adult and pediatric patients who are allergic to the E. coli-derived asparaginase products used most commonly for treatment.

30 Jun 2021

Kinase inhibitors could provide an effective way to treat high-risk leukaemia

Australian scientists have found what could prove to be a new and effective way to treat a particularly aggressive blood cancer in children.

29 May 2021

Drug shortages can be exacerbated by COVID-19 pandemic

A new paper published online in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society examines the nation's current shortage of vitally needed medications, and how this dangerous situation is being made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic.

11 Jun 2020

Research could open up new therapeutic strategies for some lung and kidney cancers

New findings from researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center about how some cancer cells become "addicted" to glucose could open up fresh approaches to therapy strategies for cancers with high levels of an amino acid transporter called solute carrier family 7 member 11 (SLC7A11).

30 Mar 2020

New drug combo may improve pancreatic cancer therapy

A new study by scientists at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute have discovered a combination of two cancer-fighting drugs that successfully worked on pancreatic tumor in mice, shrinking them significantly, and paving the way for a speedy clinical trial designed to test their efficacy in humans.

18 Nov 2019

Reducing acrylamide in fried and baked snacks

In 2002, the discovery of acrylamide in certain snacks rattled consumers and the food industry. Acrylamide, a probable human carcinogen, forms by a chemical reaction during baking or frying.

11 Sep 2019

Research sheds light on how leukemia cells become resistant to drugs

Three children Alejandro Gutierrez, MD, treated for leukemia during his fellowship at Boston Children's Hospital still haunt him more than a decade later.

17 Apr 2019

Discovery of weakness in a rare cancer could be exploited with drugs

Cancer cells are, in some respects, impressive: They can grow relentlessly, sidestep the aging process by becoming immortal, and evade the immune system's persistent attacks. But in the process of acquiring such superpowers, the cells must occasionally relinquish other, more mundane skills--including the ability to produce certain nutrients.

15 Feb 2019

Certain foods may assist spread of breast cancer

Researchers from Cambridge have come up with a new study that shows that some foods may influence the spread of certain cancers. Asparagine for example is a nutrient present in asparagus. If this nutrient is absent, the growth of breast cancer can be slowed, they note. The results of the study are published in the latest issue of the journal Nature.

8 Feb 2018

Scientists find way to reduce breast cancer spread

Scientists have discovered that an amino acid called asparagine is essential for breast cancer spread, and by restricting it, cancer cells stopped invading other parts of the body in mice, according to research part-funded by Cancer Research UK and published in the journal Nature today, (Wednesday).

7 Feb 2018

Russian scientists uncover previously unknown effect of leukemia drug

Researchers from RUDN University and Institute of Biomedical Chemistry of the Russian Academy of Sciences have identified an alternative mechanism for the effective antitumor drug -- an enzyme called L-asparaginase.

10 Nov 2017

ERYTECH partners with Queen’s University to advance its product candidate for treating arginase-1 deficiency

ERYTECH Pharma, a French clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing innovative therapies for rare forms of cancer and orphan diseases, today announced that it has entered into a research collaboration with Queen's University in Canada to advance the preclinical development of ERYTECH's eryminase program specifically for the treatment of arginase-1 deficiency, a rare and severe metabolic disorder related to arginine metabolism.

12 Jul 2017

Enzyme identified in baker's yeast can efficiently annihilate leukemia cells

An enzyme identified in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, commonly known as brewer's or baker's yeast, has passed in vitro trials, demonstrating its capacity to kill acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) cells.

18 Jan 2017