Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia News and Research

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Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is a cancer of the white blood cells, the cells in the body that normally fight infections. There are two main types of white blood cells-lymphoid cells and myeloid cells. ALL affects lymphoid cells.

Notch1 protein impacts childhood leukemia progression: Study

A protein crucial for the immune response appears to be a key player in the progression of a devastating form of childhood leukemia called T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL). Suppressing the activity of the protein kills the leukemic cells, the study shows, opening a potential avenue to new drugs that could prevent progression of the disease.

14 Sep 2010

ADHD medication improves childhood cancer survivors: Research

A medicine widely used to treat attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) also provides long-term relief from the attention and behavior changes that affect many childhood cancer survivors, according to a multicenter trial led by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital investigators.

14 Sep 2010

ARIAD commences ponatinib Phase 2 clinical trial in Ph+ ALL and chronic myeloid leukemia

ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced the initiation of the pivotal Phase 2 clinical trial of its investigational pan-BCR-ABL inhibitor, ponatinib (previously known as AP24534), in patients with resistant or intolerant chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) and Philadelphia positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (Ph+ ALL).

13 Sep 2010

Synthetic derivative of Retinoic acid can induce cell death

Retinoic acid (RA), a natural derivative of vitamin A, is the basis of a number of treatments against cancer. Nevertheless, it has certain disadvantages, such as the possibility of the appearance of retinoic acid syndrome, present in 25 % of cases and which can lead to death. The development of 4-HPR, a synthetic derivative of RA, has meant a considerable advance due to its greater efficacy compared to its predecessor.

8 Sep 2010

NIH awards St. Jude $8.6M to focus on anticancer agent research in children

With its new expansion of the Pharmacogenomics Research Network (PGRN), the National Institutes of Health (NIH) awarded St. Jude Children's Research Hospital a prestigious grant to focus on anticancer agent research in children.

8 Sep 2010

Obesity directly accelerates progression of acute lymphoblastic leukemia

The first study to demonstrate that obesity can directly accelerate the progression of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) has been conducted at The Saban Research Institute of Childrens Hospital Los Angeles and will be published in Cancer Prevention Research, on October 5, 2010. Obesity has been associated with an increased incidence of many cancers, including leukemia, but it has been unknown whether the increase in incidence was a direct effect of obesity or associated with genetic, lifestyle, health, or socio-economic factors.

8 Sep 2010

Complete Genomics, SAIC-Frederick collaborate to validate somatic mutations from pediatric cancer cases

Complete Genomics Inc., a life sciences company focused on human genome sequencing, today announced a collaboration to identify and validate somatic mutations from 50 pediatric cancer cases from multiple research centers across the United States.

7 Sep 2010

RA synthetic derivative 4-HPR's ability to induce tumour cell death

7 Sep 2010

St. Jude Doctors and scientists work together to improve survival rates for childhood cancer

Survival rates overall for childhood cancer are almost 80 percent—a marked advance against a disease that was curable in only a small fraction of children 50 years ago. However, despite progress, pediatric cancer remains the leading cause of death due to disease among U.S. children older than 1 year of age.

3 Sep 2010

International community must approach cancer as a global health priority

Once thought to be a problem primarily in the developed world, cancer is now a leading cause of death and disability in poorer countries. Almost two-thirds of the 7.6 million cancer deaths in the world occur in low- and middle-income countries.

16 Aug 2010

Fertility preservation may be unsafe for leukemia patients: Study

Although the use of ovarian tissue cryopreservation and transplantation has lead to 13 live births in women with lymphoma or solid tumors, this method of fertility preservation may be unsafe for patients with leukemia, according to a recent study published online in Blood, the journal of the American Society of Hematology.

16 Aug 2010

Hana Biosciences second-quarter net loss decreases to $6.3 million

Hana Biosciences Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on strengthening the foundation of cancer care, today reported financial results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2010, and provided a corporate update.

13 Aug 2010

CytRx reports net income for second-quarter 2010 compared to net loss for previous year

CytRx Corporation, a biopharmaceutical company specializing in oncology, today reported financial results for the three months and six months ended June 30, 2010 and provided a business update.

9 Aug 2010

Micromet second-quarter 2010 total revenues increase to $6.5 million

Micromet, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of next-generation antibodies for the treatment of cancer, today announced its financial results for the second quarter and six months ended June 30, 2010.

5 Aug 2010

ARIAD reports $159.3 million second-quarter net income

ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today reported financial results for the second quarter and six months ended June 30, 2010 and provided an update on corporate developments.

5 Aug 2010

Access Pharmaceuticals initiates Phase I/II dose escalating study for Thiarabine

Access Pharmaceuticals, Inc., today announced it has initiated a Phase I/II dose-escalating study of its proprietary, anti-cancer drug, Thiarabine, a nucleoside analog for patients with hematologic malignancies (cancers of the blood). The primary objective of the study is to determine the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) in two different dosing schedules with various leukemias and lymphomas and recommended Phase II dose. The program is being led by Hagop Kantarjian, M.D., Chair of the Department of Leukemia at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas.

4 Aug 2010

Bio-Path commences dosing in Liposomal Grb-2 Phase I cancer study

Bio-Path Holdings, Inc.,, a biotechnology company with drug development operations in Houston, Texas, announced today that the first patient has been dosed in a Phase I study of its cancer drug candidate, Liposomal Grb-2 (L-Grb-2 or BP-100-1.01), in patients with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML), Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML), Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) or Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS).

30 Jul 2010

Two missing genes can develop aggressive form of leukaemia in mice: Research

A completely new mechanism that leads to the development of a certain type of leukaemia could eventually be targeted by new treatments, according to research published in Nature Immunology today (Sunday).

12 Jul 2010

EUSA grants Ohara Japanese rights to Erwinase oncology therapy

EUSA Pharma, a transatlantic specialty pharmaceutical company focused on oncology, pain control and critical care, today announced that it has granted the Japanese development and commercialization rights to its oncology therapy Erwinase(R) to Ohara Pharmaceutical Company Limited. The agreement represents the first product partnership EUSA has established in Japan.

6 Jul 2010

Threshold Pharmaceuticals commences TH-302 Phase 1 clinical trial in patients with advanced leukemias

Threshold Pharmaceuticals, Inc., today announced that it has initiated a Phase 1 clinical trial of TH-302 in patients with advanced leukemias. TH-302 is a proprietary Hypoxia-Activated Prodrug (HAP) that specifically targets tumor hypoxia.

29 Jun 2010