Ireland Cancer Center researchers advance stem cell gene therapy
Researchers present findings at American Society of Hematology Meeting
Ireland Cancer Center of University Hospitals Case Medical Center
researchers have recently made great strides in stem cell gene
therapy research by transferring a new gene to cancer patients, via
their own stem cells, with the ultimate goal of being able to use
stronger chemotherapy treatment with less severe side effects. Under
this protocol, MGMT, a drug-resistance gene, is added into purified
hematopoietic stem cells to protect these cells from the damage of
chemotherapy regimens.
In one of 24 presentations by Ireland Cancer Center researchers at
the annual American Society of Hematology meeting, Stanton Gerson,
MD, and colleagues presented that eight patients were enrolled on the
trial and six were infused with their own stem cells which were
engineered to carry the MGMT gene. In three patients, stem cells
carrying the gene were identified in their blood or bone marrow. In
one patient, stem cells carrying the gene were detected up to 28
weeks after their administration. This significant finding has never
been reported before with this gene and drug combination.
¡§This study is the first to show the success of treatment with
evidence that stem cells now carry the new gene,¡¨ says Dr. Gerson,
Director of the Ireland Cancer Center and Case Comprehensive Cancer
Center, who spearheaded the Phase I study along with a team of
researchers. ¡§These patients show the success of treatment with
evidence that their stem cells now carry the new genes. This is a
breakthrough ¡V the first time selection with MGMT has been shown to
occur in patients.¡¨
Preclinical animal research, conducted by Dr. Gerson and his
colleagues, has shown that the gene G156A-MGMT can provide stem cells
with very high levels of drug resistance, compared to normal stem
cells not carrying the gene. In the Phase I trial for patients with
advanced malignancies, researchers collected peripheral blood stem
cells from patients and exposed them to a retrovirus containing the
G156A-MGMT gene.
In addition to this promising research, Ireland Cancer Center
scientists presented 24 oral and poster presentations at ASH. ¡§The
breadth and depth of this innovative hematologic research at the
Ireland Cancer Center are outstanding,¡¨ says Alvin Schmaier, MD,
Chief of Hematology/Oncology at UHCMC and Case Western Reserve
University School of Medicine. ¡§Our faculty is making tremendous
advances in these fields which is reflected in their being chosen for
oral and poster presentations.¡¨
The presentations include:
Dr. Hillard Lazarus and colleagues presented significant findings
that treatment with Rituximab before transplantation results in cure
rate and overall survival in patients undergoing autologous stem cell
transplantation for Diffuse Large B-Cell lymphoma.
Dr. Lazarus and colleagues of the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group
(ECOG) presented data that show that Imatninib (Gleevec) does not
change outcomes on patients with Philadelphia Chromosome Positive
Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.
Dr. Lazarus presented an assessment of data over 30 years regarding
acute leukemia and its management. He found that all avenues lead to
stem cell transplantations. His team provided this assessment of a
whole host of entities that provide leukemia care.
Dr. Jonathan Kenyon and colleagues found that normal individuals over
age 50 begin to show evidence that genetic mutations are accumulating
in marrow stem cells. This finding might be the key underlying the
increased risk of anemias, myelodysplastic syndrome and acute
leukemia in older individuals.
Dr. Kevin Bunting¡¦s laboratory gave two important presentations on
how intracellular STAT5 (an intracellular signaling protein)
influences normal pathologic hematopoiesis (blood cell formation) and
stem cell engraftment.
Dr. Shigemi Matsuyama and colleagues presented a novel way of
treating chemotherapy -induced thrombocytopenia (decrease in number
of platelets in the blood) using Bax Inhibiting Peptides to rescue
the damaged cells.
Dr. Keith McCrae and colleagues presented that ƒÒ2 glycoprotein is a
cofactor in the process that dissolves blood clots through the use of
the medical agent tPA.
###
About University Hospitals
With 150 locations throughout Northeast Ohio, University Hospitals
serves the needs of patients through an integrated network of
hospitals, outpatient centers and primary care physicians. At the
core of our Health System is University Hospitals Case Medical
Center. The primary affiliate of Case Western Reserve University
School of Medicine, University Hospitals Case Medical Center is home
to some of the most prestigious clinical and research centers of
excellence in the nation and the world, including cancer, pediatrics,
women's health, orthopedics and spine, radiology and radiation
oncology, neurosurgery and neuroscience, cardiology and
cardiovascular surgery, organ transplantation and human genetics. Its
main campus includes the internationally celebrated Rainbow Babies &
Children's Hospital, ranked best in the Midwest and first in the
nation for the care of critically ill newborns; MacDonald Women's
Hospital, Ohio's only hospital for women; and Ireland Cancer Center,
which holds the nation's highest designation by the National Cancer
Institute of Comprehensive Cancer Center. For more information, go to
www.uhhospitals.
Public release date: 12-Dec-2007
Contact: Alicia Reale
alicia.reale@
216-844-5158
University Hospitals of Cleveland
http://www.eurekale
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StemCells subscribers may also be interested in these sites:
Children's Neurobiological Solutions
http://www.CNSfoundation.org/
Cord Blood Registry
http://www.CordBlood.com/at.cgi?a=150123
The CNS Healing Group
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CNS_Healing
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