To print: Select File and then Print from your browser's menu --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Title: Trisenox (Arsenic Trioxide) Enhances Effects of Glivec (STI-571) Against Chronic Myeloid Leukemia URL: http://www.pslgroup.com/dg/1F9E2A.htm Doctor's Guide May 3, 2001
SEATTLE, WA -- May 3, 2001 -- Researchers report that Trisenox ™ (arsenic trioxide) may make Glivec® (STI-571) more effective in treating chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). Cell Therapeutics, Inc. currently markets Trisenox injection for the treatment of relapsed acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL), another form of severe leukemia. In the journal Leukemia, scientists found that combination treatment with arsenic trioxide and STI-571 is more effective at inducing cell death than either agent alone and may also have the potential to delay resistance to STI-571. The authors demonstrated that arsenic trioxide selectively decreases levels of bcr-abl, the fusion gene responsible for CML, and induces cell death in bcr-abl positive leukemia cells through a mechanism that is different and independent of abl-kinase inhibition by STI-571. As a result of these and other data, more investigators are becoming interested in studying Trisenox to treat CML. "Based on early data from China showing a high response rate to arsenic trioxide in CML patients, we have initiated studies of Trisenox in our lab," stated Brian Druker, M.D., Professor of Medicine, Oregon Health Sciences University. "What we have seen is that Trisenox is very effective at killing CML cells, and we are in the process of testing Trisenox in combination with STI-571." "This is very exciting preclinical data supporting the investigation of Trisenox in clinical trials for treating patients with CML," noted James A. Bianco, M.D., President and CEO of Cell Therapeutics, Inc. "Given that the prevalence of this type of leukemia is high, it could represent a commercially attractive application for Trisenox." Trisenox, a pharmaceutical grade arsenic product, has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat patients with relapsed or refractory APL. In general, the toxicities associated with arsenic trioxide therapy are well identified and manageable, when monitored and treated appropriately. CML is one of the two main types of chronic leukemia. Worldwide, the disease occurs in one to two cases per 100,000 people per year and is responsible for up to 20 percent of all adult leukemias.
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