Gleevec News and Research

RSS

Gleevec is a drug used to treat different types of leukemia and other cancers of the blood, gastrointestinal stromal tumors, skin tumors called dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans, and a rare condition called systemic mastocytosis. It is also being studied in the treatment of other types of cancer. Gleevec blocks the protein made by the bcr/abl oncogene. It is a type of tyrosine kinase inhibitor. Also called imatinib mesylate and STI571.

Set of genes identified in human genome essential for survival, proliferation of human cell lines

Using two complementary analytical approaches, scientists at Whitehead Institute and Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard have for the first time identified the universe of genes in the human genome essential for the survival and proliferation of human cell lines or cultured human cells.

16 Oct 2015

UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center named among top 10 cancer centers in nation

UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center is ranked among the top 10 cancer centers in the nation, according to a U.S. News & World Report survey of board-certified physicians from across the country. The survey reviewed patient outcomes, the cancer center's reputation among physicians, mortality rates and other care-related factors.

22 Jul 2015

Novartis to highlight strength of its expanded oncology portfolio at ASCO 2015

Novartis will highlight the strength of its expanded oncology portfolio in 21 medicines and 11 investigational compounds across more than 185 data presentations at the upcoming American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting, May 29-June 2, and the Congress of the European Hematology Association (EHA), June 11-14.

1 Jun 2015

Low doses of imatinib drug can push immune system to combat bacterial infections

Low doses of the anti-cancer drug imatinib can spur the bone marrow to produce more innate immune cells to fight against bacterial infections, Emory researchers have found.

1 Apr 2015

New study finds increase in use of adjuvant systemic therapy for gastrointestinal stromal tumors

A new study finds that the use of adjuvant systemic therapy for localized gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs ) has significantly increased over time and that patients treated with the therapy have better survival than those treated with surgery alone.

3 Mar 2015

Evolution of two protein kinases may hold key to unlocking highly specific cancer drugs

This is the story of Abl and Src -- two nearly identical protein kinases whose evolution may hold the key to unlocking new, highly specific cancer drugs.

20 Feb 2015

Franziska Michor named winner of Creative Promise Prize in Biomedical Science

Franziska Michor was picked as the winner of a Creative Promise Prize in Biomedical Science for her research that fuses evolutionary biology, mathematics, and clinical research toward a better understanding of cancer genesis and treatments.

12 Feb 2015

Drug similar to Gleevec may help tame some brain cancers

The drug Gleevec (imatinib mesylate) is well known not only for its effectiveness against chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) and acute lymphoblastic leukemia, but also for the story behinds its development. The drug was specifically designed to target an abnormal molecule--a fusion of two normal cell proteins--that fueled a tumor's growth.

10 Feb 2015

Yale researcher receives 2015 Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Biomedicine

A Spanish foundation has awarded a major scientific prize to Yale researcher Joseph Schlessinger and two colleagues in recognition of their work leading to the first personalized treatments for cancer. The 2015 Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Biomedicine from the Madrid-based BBVA Foundation includes a €400,000 cash prize.

27 Jan 2015

Novartis to highlight advances in blood, breast cancer research at ASH and SABCS 2014

Novartis will highlight more than 250 abstracts demonstrating advances in blood and breast cancer research at the upcoming American Society of Hematology (ASH) annual meeting December 6-9, and CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS) December 9-13.

2 Dec 2014

Aptose joins Beat AML research collaboration

Aptose Biosciences Inc., a clinical-stage company developing new therapeutics and molecular diagnostics that target the underlying mechanisms of cancer, the Knight Cancer Institute at Oregon Health & Science University and The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society today announced that Aptose has joined the Beat AML collaboration.

29 Sep 2014

Study reveals how BTK mutation triggers drug resistance in CLL patients

A multi-institutional team of researchers has pinpointed exactly what goes wrong when chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) patients develop resistance to ibrutinib, a highly effective, precisely targeted anti-cancer drug.

29 May 2014

First Edition: May 16, 2014

Today's headlines include reports about the Indiana governor's alternative plan to expand Medicaid. Kaiser Health News staff writer Sarah Varney, working in collaboration with PBS Newshour, reports: "Men and women involved in the criminal justice system are more likely to be sicker than the general population, with higher rates of diabetes, hypertension, depression, mood disorders and alcohol and drug addiction.

16 May 2014

BioLineRx to initiate Phase 1/2 clinical trial on new drug candidate for CML treatment

BioLineRx, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to identifying, in-licensing and developing promising therapeutic candidates, announced today that Prof. Arnon Nagler, Director of the Hematology Division and Bone Marrow Transplantation Center at Sheba Medical Center, Israel, has received final regulatory approval to evaluate BioLineRx's BL-8040 as a treatment for chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) in a Phase 1/2 clinical study.

10 Apr 2014

Biostatistics provides clues to understanding autism: an interview with Dr Knut M. Wittkowski, The Rockefeller University

The incidence of autism spectrum disorders has increased sharply since it was first described 60 years ago. Today, ASD affects more than 1% of all children in the U.S. and about half of them develop a life-long disability.

3 Mar 2014

Old FDA-approved drugs may hold promise for treatment of rare, drug-resistant cancer

University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI) scientists have shown that old drugs might be able to do new tricks.

14 Feb 2014

Combination of SYK and FLT3 enzymes promotes progression of acute myelogenous leukemia

Reinforcing the need to look beyond genomic alterations to understand the complexity of cancer, researchers from Dana-Farber/Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center report that a normal enzyme called SYK pairs with FLT3, the most commonly mutated enzyme found in acute myelogenous leukemia (AML), to promote progression of the disease.

11 Feb 2014

Study examine effect of high out-of-pocket drug costs for targeted cancer therapies on patients

The cost of insurance co-payments for cutting-edge pharmaceuticals can vary widely from patient to patient. When the patient's share of prescription costs becomes too high, many patients skip doses or stop taking medication entirely, according to research conducted at the University of North Carolina.

6 Jan 2014

MIT receives $90M from Ludwig Cancer Research to strengthen interdisciplinary approach to cancer research

MIT has received $90 million from Ludwig Cancer Research, on behalf of its founder Daniel K. Ludwig, a gift that aims to transform basic research on metastasis, the process by which cancer cells spread from a primary tumor to distant sites in the body.