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.
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.
Australian scientists have found what could prove to be a new and effective way to treat a particularly aggressive blood cancer in children.
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.
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).
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.
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.
Three children Alejandro Gutierrez, MD, treated for leukemia during his fellowship at Boston Children's Hospital still haunt him more than a decade later.
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.
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.
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).
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.
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.
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.
Researchers have identified a rare genetic variation associated with a dramatically increased risk of severe acute pancreatitis in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) patients treated with the chemotherapy agent asparaginase. St. Jude Children's Research Hospital led the study, which appears today in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
Blood-contacting implantable medical devices, such as stents, heart valves, ventricular assist devices, and extracorporeal support systems, as well as vascular grafts and access catheters, are used worldwide to improve patients' lives. However, these devices are prone to failure due to the body's responses at the blood-material interface; clots can form and inflammatory reactions can prevent the device from performing as indicated. Currently, when this occurs, the only solution is to replace the device.
Using a pediatric chemotherapy regimen to treat young adults with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) significantly improved their outcomes compared to what has historically been achieved with 'adult' treatment protocols, report Dana-Farber Cancer Institute scientists.
Phase III trial results support the use of intravenously administered PEGylated Escherichia coli asparaginase as the preparation of choice in children and adolescents with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.
Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc announced today that the first patients have been enrolled in a Phase 3 clinical development program evaluating the safety and efficacy of its investigational drug candidate, JZP-110, as a wake-promoting agent in the treatment of excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) in adult patients with narcolepsy or with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).
A patent application for a drug that could destroy the deadly childhood disease known as acute lymphoblastic leukemia — and potentially other cancers as well — has been submitted by researchers at Sandia National Laboratories, the University of Maryland and the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.
Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc announced today that researchers will present data on the use of defibrotide, an investigational medicine being studied in the United States (U.S.) for the treatment of hepatic veno-occlusive disease (VOD), a rare, potentially life-threatening, early complication in patients undergoing hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation (HSCT) therapy.