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Biotech / Medical : Genta, Inc. (GNTA) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: bob zagorin who wrote (1228)	10/28/1999 10:48:00 AM
From: bob zagorin	Respond to of 1870

found this link on YHOO brd. old news but clear simple explanation of how it works. Clinical trial gives prostate cancer "one-two punch" BC Cancer Agency study knocks out Bcl-2 gene VANCOUVER - Today, patients with prostate cancer at the BC Cancer Agency in Vancouver were the first in the world to take drug therapy to counteract a gene that helps cancer cells survive and prosper. This is the first time a drug therapy has combined an anticancer drug with a gene-tweaking piece of DNA. The treatment mixes a man-made DNA-like molecule, called G3139, with the drug mitoxantrone to disrupt the growth cycle of cancer cells. The molecule skews the Bcl-2 gene's messages to the cell and the anticancer drug deals a final damaging blow to the cell's ability to repair itself. "Think of it this way: first the DNA-damaging drugs remove the cell's defense system," says Dr. Richard Klasa, a medical oncologist at the BC Cancer Agency and an investigator for the study, "then the anticancer drug gives it a final insult." "This form of gene therapy is based on disrupting messages expressed through the genes," Klasa continues. "We now know there are several cancer-related genes that are overly active. Our thought was that these might make an excellent target - to try to get these genes, like Bcl-2, to under-produce and cause the cancer cells to die." Forty patients will participate in the Phase I study, which is being funded by the BC Cancer Agency. Candidates have prostate cancer that has spread and is resistant to hormone therapy. Hormone-independent prostate cancer begins receiving survival messages from the Bcl-2 gene. Because similar cell behaviour happens in many forms of cancer, the new drug combination could lead to less-invasive treatments for many patients. B.C. researchers developed the drug therapy with Genta Pharmaceuticals in San Diego, California, the company that developed the synthetic molecule. Klasa and Dr. Kim Nguyen Chi of the BC Cancer Agency's Division of Medical Oncology and Department of Advanced Therapeutics are the chief investigators. Chi will oversee the care of patients on the trial. "I am hopeful studies such as this will lead to improvements in the treatment of advanced prostate cancer," Chi says. "New methods of fighting this disease are desperately needed." Dr. Martin Gleave, a cancer specialist and researcher at the BC Cancer Agency and Vancouver Hospital and Health Sciences Centre, conducted laboratory research that paved the way to the clinical trial. "In the lab, the strategy significantly inhibits the growth of the cancer," Gleave says. The BC Cancer Agency team presented the preclinical findings at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research last spring. "This new clinical trial is an excellent example of our bench-to-bedside research capability," says Dr. Victor Ling, vice-president of research for the BC Cancer Agency. "Because our research and treatment programs are integrated, we can translate scientific discoveries into patient care faster than many other health care organizations." When researchers identified the Bcl-2 gene's role in cancer a decade ago, they began looking for strategies to silence it. The approach in this latest clinical trial uses a segment of DNA, called antisense oligodeoxynucleotide, to target a sequence in the gene, in order to disrupt messages the gene sends to the cell. The BC Cancer Agency's new strategy adds a twist - an anticancer drug to further damage the DNA. "The antisense strategy tries to select out one message in the entire gene pool," Klasa says. "It's not a blunderbuss approach. It's selective micro-surgery. This way of delivering drugs allows us to get into all the cancer cells in the body." The BC Cancer Agency was the first cancer research and treatment facility in Canada to conduct research into gene therapies. Antisense therapy is among many new strategies on the horizon as scientists learn more about the composition of genes in human cells. The BC Cancer Agency's Genome Sequence Centre, which will open in 1999, will play a leading role in developing non-invasive cures for cancer, such as this gene therapy for prostate cancer patients. The BC Cancer Agency provides a comprehensive cancer control program for the people of British Columbia. The Agency works closely with community partners to deliver a range of oncology services, including prevention, early detection, diagnosis and treatment, research, education, supportive care, rehabilitation and palliative care. The BC Cancer Research Centre conducts research into the causes and cures for cancer. The BC Cancer Foundation has a mandate to raise funds to support the work of the Agency and the Research Centre. For more information, please call Francine Gaudet (604) 877-6107 Public Relations.