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New Targeted Cancer Therapy may be ‘Possible Hope’ for Some Pancreatic Cancer Patients

Reporter: Irina Robu, PhD

UPDATED on 7/18/2019

BREAKTHROUGH PANCREATIC CANCER TREATMENT PHASE III TRIAL OPENS IN ISRAEL

Hope is that successful trials will allow Rafael Pharmaceuticals will receive expedited FDA approval by late 2020.

“What it does is feeds misinformation to these regulatory elements, making them feel that there is too much carbon flow through both of these complexes, causing them to be inhibited,” Pardee said. “It simultaneously inhibits both complexes so tumor cells that are primarily driven by glucose cannot utilize glucose in the TCA cycle. Tumor cells that are primarily driven by glutamine usage cannot use glutamine-derived carbons in the TCA cycle. And, importantly, tumors cannot switch from one source to the other in the presence of CPI-613,” he explained.

He said that hitting two complexes simultaneously has many advantages. One is that the carbon source the tumor is primarily dependent on does not matter; another is that evolved resistance for both complexes simultaneously is very unlikely to happen.

Pardee said CPI-613’s key differentiators are that it is highly selective on the uptake and target level in cancer cells, which leads to less toxicity to healthy cells. This allows for patients to receive extended treatment courses and for the drug to be used in combination with other drugs.

CPI-613 is being administered in this clinical trial with a chemotherapy combination of fluorouracil, leucovorin, irinotecan, and oxaliplatin, called FOLFIRINOX.

SOURCE

https://www.jpost.com/HEALTH-SCIENCE/Breakthrough-pancreatic-cancer-treatment-phase-III-trial-opens-in-Israel-596059

New Targeted Cancer Therapy may be ‘Possible Hope’ for Some Pancreatic Cancer Patients

Pancreatic cancer is the 12th maximum common cancer and the fourth leading cause of cancer death. The cancer is often difficult to diagnose as there is no cost-effective ways to screen for the illness. For over 52% of people who are diagnosed after the cancer has spread and with a 5-year survival rate.

Scientists at Sheba Medical Center in Israel developed a targeted cancer therapy drug together with AstraZeneca and Merck which can offer a possible new solution for patients with a specific kind of pancreatic cancer by delaying the progression of the disease. To evaluate the safety and test the efficacy of a new drug treatment regimen based on Lynparza tablets. The tablets are a pharmacological inhibitor of the enzyme poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase which inhibit the enzyme. They were developed for a number of indications, but most prominently for the treatment of cancer, as numerous forms of cancer are more dependent for their development on the enzyme than regular cells are. This makes poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase an attractive target for cancer therapy.

Their study included 154 patients who were randomly assigned to get the tablets at a dose of 300 mg twice a day with metastatic pancreatic cancer who carried the genetic mutation called BRCA 1 and BRCA 2. BRCA1 and BRCA2 are human genes that produce proteins accountable for repairing damaged DNA and play a substantial role in preserving the genetic stability of cells. Once either of these genes is mutated, DNA damage can’t be repaired properly and cells become unstable. As a result, cells are more likely to develop additional genetic alterations that can lead to cancer.

Patients with these mutations make up six to seven percent of the metastatic pancreatic cancer patients. The trial using the using the medicine Lynparza offers possible hope for those who suffer from metastatic pancreatic cancer and have a BRCA mutation and slows down the disease progression. According to the researchers this is the first Phase 3 biomarker that is positive in pancreatic cancer and the drug gives incredible hope for patients with the advanced stage of the cancer.

SOURCE
https://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-researchers-find-potential-hope-for-some-pancreatic-cancer-patients/