[EMAIL PROTECTED] (William J. Foristal) writes:
HI Ron,
I guess this article proves once and for all that this is not a hoax,
cruel or otherwise. The British researchers confirm that the research
drugs do, indeed, show promise in the curing of some cancers.
Bill
On Wed, 6 May 1998 11:11:54 -0700 "Ronald Helm" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
writes:
>"Ronald Helm" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
>
>
>UK to test new cancer drug on humans
>
>By Patricia Reaney
>LONDON (Reuters) - British doctors said Wednesday they expect to begin
>human trials of a new cancer drug that cuts off blood supply to tumors
>ahead of U.S. counterparts who are working on a similar approach.
>Dr David Secher, director of drug development for the Cancer Research
>Campaign, said the charity hopes to test Combretastatin A4 on humans
>in
>November.
>"Our animal studies have been sufficiently encouraging for us to go
>into
>clinical studies. I think it is a very interesting area," Secher told
>Reuters.
>Unlike conventional treatments that target the cancer cells
>themselves,
>Combretastatin works by selectively damaging blood vessels that supply
>the cells with the oxygen and nutrients they need to survive and grow.
>It "starves" the cancer in a similar way to angiostatin and
>endostatin,
>two drugs which attracted worldwide interest this week after tests in
>the United States showed they completely wiped out tumors in mice.
>Combretastatin is a mad-made derivative of the extract of the African
>Bush Willow. It was discovered by Professor Bob Pettit, of Arizona
>State
>University, which has licensed it to Oxigene, a Swedish medical
>technology company.
>News of the U.S. trials of angiostatin and endostatin has sent shares
>soaring in EntreMed Inc, which has rights to those drugs, despite
>warnings that they might not produce the same results in humans.
>EntreMed said it would be at least a year before the drug combination
>could be tested on humans.
>The British researchers plan to begin Phase 1 trials for safety and to
>set the correct dose of Combretastatin in November at the Mount Vernon
>Hospital in Middlesex, southern England.
>Dr Dai Chaplin, who will conduct these trials, said the way
>Combretastatin damages the endothelial cells, which line the blood
>vessels in the tumor, may be quite different from the U.S. drug
>combination, but the end result is basically the same.
>Chaplin found in animal trials a single dose of Combretastatin could
>kill off up to 95 percent of solid tumor cells by starving them of
>their
>blood supply.
>"As more than 90 percent of cancers are solid tumors, or lumps, we are
>very excited about its potential as a powerful new weapon to treat
>cancer patients. It also opens the door for further development of
>other
>drugs working on the same principle," Chaplin added.
>The two-drug U.S. approach of starving cancerous cells was pioneered
>by
>Dr Judah Folkman of Boston Children's Hospital in Massachusetts.
>"It's a very exciting way to go. It's too early to know whether it is
>the right way to go but it is one of a number of new and exciting
>approaches," said Secher.
>Chaplin described the latest drugs as a whole new battlefield against
>cancer.
>"Our data and the data coming from Judah's lab in the U.S. is showing
>that these approaches can work. You're really targeting the blood
>vessels rather than the tumor cells and I'm sure there is going to be
>a
>lot more research which will prove you can do that," he said.
>
> To succeed in politics, it is often necessary to rise above your
>principles.
>[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
>
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