Novel Drug Shows Potential For Treating Leukemia

Researchers from the Children's Cancer Hospital at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center have found that a novel targeted therapy effectively treats acute leukemia in animal models by preventing cancer cells from being purged of damaged proteins. In the March online issue of the journal Blood, investigators reported that the new proteasome inhibitor, NPI-0052, not only successfully kills leukemia cells, but also shows greater efficacy than its predecessor bortezomib when combined with other agents in animal models. According to researchers, proteasomes clean out mutated or damaged proteins within cells, which promotes cell growth and allows cancer cells to rapidly reproduce. Proteasome inhibitors block this process, resulting in apoptosis, or cell death, of the malignant cells.... Whole article on "ScienceDaily":[ www.sciencedaily.com]

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