Acute Myeloid Leukemia News and Research

RSS

Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) is a rapidly progressing cancer of the blood characterized by the uncontrolled proliferation of immature blast cells in the bone marrow. The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society estimates that over 13,000 new cases of AML were diagnosed and approximately 9,000 deaths from AML occurred in the U.S. during 2007. AML is generally a disease of older adults, and the median age of a patient diagnosed with AML is about 67 years. A majority of elderly patients are not considered candidates for standard induction therapy or decline therapy, resulting in an acute need for new treatment options.

Leukemia cells rely on fatty acid metabolism to grow and evade cell death

Leukemia cells, like most cancers, are addicted to glucose to generate their energy, but new research shows for the first time that these cells also rely on fatty acid metabolism to grow and to evade cell death.

28 Jan 2010

CytRx announces its plans to advance multiple oncology development programs in 2010

CytRx Corporation, a biopharmaceutical company specializing in oncology, today announced its plans for 2010 aimed at advancing the clinical development of its high-value drug development pipeline and enhancing shareholder value.

22 Jan 2010

Gene variant predisposes humans to develop acute myeloid leukemia, says study

A large international research group led by Dr. Tarik M-r-y, a researcher at the Institut de recherches cliniques de Montr-al (IRCM), has discovered that a variant of the gene "Growth Factor Independence 1" (GFI1) predisposes humans to develop acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a certain subtype of blood cancer.

20 Jan 2010

Vion Pharmaceuticals files SPA for Onrigin-LDAC combination Phase II/III trial

VION PHARMACEUTICALS, INC. announced today that it had filed a Special Protocol Assessment (SPA) with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) related to a randomized Phase II/III trial of its oncology therapeutic Onrigin™ (laromustine) Injection in combination with low-dose Ara-C (LDAC) in elderly patients with newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The primary objective for the Phase III part of this study is to determine if Onrigin™ plus LDAC improves overall survival compared with LDAC alone.

12 Jan 2010

Older patients with acute myeloid leukemia may benefit from decitabine drug

Older patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) might benefit from a drug that reactivates genes that cancer cells turn off, according to research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and collaborating institutions.

12 Jan 2010

Meda receives exclusive rights to distribute AML drug in Europe and Asia

Meda has in-licensed exclusive rights to Ceplene (histamine dihydrochloride) from EpiCept Corporation, a US-based biopharmaceutical company.

11 Jan 2010

EpiCept, Meda enter into exclusive commercialization agreement for Ceplene

EpiCept Corporation announced today that it has entered into an exclusive commercialization agreement for Ceplene® (histamine dihydrochloride) with Meda AB, a leading international specialty pharmaceutical company based in Stockholm. Ceplene is EpiCept’s novel therapy approved in the European Union with orphan drug status for the remission maintenance and prevention of relapse of patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in first remission.

11 Jan 2010

Epigenetic diagnosis and therapies, a new strategy for treating cancer

A tumor's genetic profile is often useful when diagnosing and deciding on treatment for certain cancers, but inexplicably, genetically similar leukemias in different patients do not always respond well to the same therapy.

7 Jan 2010

FDA evaluates Phase III randomized trial in acute myeloid leukemia

VION PHARMACEUTICALS, INC., announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") had responded to its Special Protocol Assessment ("SPA") request to evaluate the Phase III randomized trial HOVON AML 92 sponsored by the Dutch-Belgian Cooperative Group for Hematology Oncology ("HOVON") of its lead product Onrigin(TM).

31 Dec 2009

Vion Pharmaceuticals files for bankruptcy

VION PHARMACEUTICALS, INC., a pharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel cancer therapeutics, announced that it had voluntarily filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.

18 Dec 2009

Ambit Biosciences and Astellas Pharma to jointly develop and commercialize FLT3 kinase inhibitors

Ambit Biosciences Corporation and Astellas Pharma Inc. today announced that they have entered into a worldwide agreement to jointly develop and commercialize FLT3 kinase inhibitors in oncology and non-oncology indications.

18 Dec 2009

Preclinical study of Arno Therapeutics' drug candidate AR-42 presented at ASH 2009

Arno Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on oncology therapeutics, today announced the presentation of a poster at the annual American Society of Hematology (ASH) meeting that describes the preclinical activity of Arno’s drug candidate AR-42 against leukemia stem cells (LSCs).

16 Dec 2009

Italian patent issued for NPM1 to test patients with AML

Xenomics, Inc., a developer of transrenal molecular diagnostics, announced today that a key Italian patent covering a unique diagnostic application with critical significance for patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) has issued.

16 Dec 2009

Update on new clinical developments and other initiatives related to Ceplene

EpiCept Corporation today provided an update on new clinical developments and other initiatives related to Ceplene® (histamine dihydrochloride), the Company’s therapy approved in the European Union for the remission maintenance and prevention of relapse of patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in first remission.

15 Dec 2009

Phase 2 pivotal trial of AC220 initiated by Ambit Biosciences

Ambit Biosciences Corporation announced today the enrollment and dosing at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center of the first patient in the ACE (AC220 Monotherapy Efficacy) Phase 2 pivotal trial in patients with relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML).

11 Dec 2009

MLL team finds 454 Sequencing technology promising for leukemia genetic characterization

This week at the 51st American Society for Hematology Annual Meeting, a team of researchers from the MLL Munich Leukemia Laboratory presented results from a series of groundbreaking studies which explore alternative, high-throughput 454 Sequencing methods for distinguishing and characterizing the many forms of leukemia and myeloproliferative disorders.

9 Dec 2009

Mozobil with chemotherapy may have a therapeutic impact on leukemic cells, reveals study

Genzyme Corporation announced today that a Phase 1/2 trial provided early clinical data suggesting that Mozobil (plerixafor injection) in combination with chemotherapy may offer a therapeutic impact on leukemic cells protected in bone marrow.

9 Dec 2009

Updated clinical data of Calistoga Pharmaceuticals’ delta selective PI3K inhibitor presented

Calistoga Pharmaceuticals, Inc., the leader in the development of isoform-selective phosphatidylinositol 3 kinase (PI3K) inhibitors for the treatment of cancer and inflammatory diseases, today announced updated clinical data on CAL-101, the Company’s oral, delta selective PI3K inhibitor, presented during two oral presentations at the 51st American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting in New Orleans.

8 Dec 2009

Ambit Biosciences presents study results of its AC220 FLT3 inhibitor for AML

Ambit Biosciences Corporation announced today that preliminary results from a clinical trial of its lead product candidate, AC220, in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) were presented at the 51st Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH) in New Orleans. AC220 is a novel, orally available, small molecule that was expressly optimized as a FMS-like tyrosine kinase-3 (FLT3) inhibitor for the treatment of AML.

8 Dec 2009

Combination of chemotherapy and midostaurin drug may benefit AML patients with FLT3 mutations

A targeted drug that is active against acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is particularly effective when teamed with chemotherapy in patients whose cancer cells harbor a key genetic mutation, researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and their colleagues will report at the American Society of Hematology's (ASH) annual meeting on Monday, Dec. 7 (Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, Room 343-345, 5:15 pm CT).

8 Dec 2009