Targeted Cancer Treatment
More than one million americans are diagnosed with cancer every year. Chemotherapy is the most common course of treatment but many patients say the side effects are almost as bad as the disease itself. Researchers at the university of miami are testing a cancer-fighting antibody that targets only damaged cells and reduces toxic side effects.
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27-year-old Anthony Sanchez was in the prime of his life when he was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Disease, cancer of the lymph nodes.
Anthony Sanchez
Cancer patient
"I was surprised but not worried it was going to be the end of me. Just worried how it was going to be taken care of."
Doctors at the University of Miami are treating him with an experimental treatment called SGN 30. It targets only cancer cells with a specific marker called CD 30 and leaves healthy cells alone.
Hugo Fernandez, M.D.
Oncologist
University of Miami
Miami, FL
"So cells that normally don't contain this will just continue growing happily, whereas with chemotherapy, it's going to affect all the cells in the blood system. It's going to affect the hair system, the cells in the mouth, in the gut, and cause damage."
An early study showed the results doctors were hoping for: the drug shrank the tumors in patients whose cancer kept coming back after standard treatment. And it did it without the harmful effects of other treatments.
Hugo Fernandez, M.D.
"This offers patient who have had chemotherapy, had high doses of therapy, even transplantation, another alternative to treat the disease."
Anthony Sanchez
"I'm lucky to feel no side effects basically, almost compared to when I see other people and see how it affects them. I consider myself lucky and blessed."
Anthony's not cured yet, but he's glad to have an easier alternative to keep his cancer in check.
In addition to Hodgkin's Disease, SGN 30 is showing promise in all cancers that contain CD 30 cells, such as non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma and Multiple Myeloma. Studies are ongoing to determine how long the benefits last. The drug could be widely available within a year and possibly used to treat other cancers in the future.
BACKGROUND: Hodgkin's disease is a type of lymphoma, meaning it is a cancer that develops in the part of the immune system known as the lymph system. Lymph vessels carry lymph, a colorless, watery fluid that contains white blood cells called lymphocytes. Along the network of vessels are groups of small, bean-shaped organs called lymph nodes. Clusters of lymph nodes are found in the underarm, pelvis, neck, and abdomen. The lymph nodes make and store infection-fighting cells. Because there are lymph vessels throughout the body, Hodgkin's disease can start just about anywhere in the body.
There is another type of lymphoma known as non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. There are many more types of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma than there are Hodgkin's lymphoma. NHL is characterized by many different cell types, and may arise in many different locations, sometimes simultaneously and via unknown paths. Hodgkin's lymphoma consists of just four subtypes and, in many cases, is a more orderly cancer. It is more likely to occur entirely within nodes and to spread into adjacent, contiguous nodes, probably spreading through lymphatic ducts. NHL is more frequently diagnosed in older people, whereas HL most often arises during the second and third decades of life.
CANCER MARKER: What these cancers have in common, though, is that they have a marker known as CD-30. CD-30 is a unique protein found on lymphomas. With this unique marker, scientists have created an antibody, SGN-30, that can specifically target CD-30. The idea behind this treatment modality is that the antibody attaches itself to the cancer cells leaving healthy cells alone. The body's immune system then detects this antibody and attacks the cancer cells. Because the treatment takes advantage of the body's immune system, it is non-toxic and has significantly fewer side effects than chemotherapy. In a small clinical study, researchers say they found the results they were hoping for. The drug shrank tumors in patients whose cancer recurred after standard treatment.
WHERE: The treatment is in clinical trials at seven centers around the United States:
- University of Miami
- University of Southern California
- Cornell University
- MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston
- University of Rochester
- University of Alabama at Birmingham
- Washington University, St. Louis
James Hanlon, Jr.
Nurse Specialist, Clinical Supervisor
University of Miami
Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center
1475 NW 12th Ave.
Miami, FL 33136
(305) 243-9115
jhanlon@med.miami.edu
Copyright © 2003 Ivanhoe Broadcast News, Inc.
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