Miracle Pill Gleevec For Cancer: - Sprycel Cancer Pill Dr. Oz Dr. Brian Druker, who invented the cancer miracle pill,and some of the lives that were affected by the amazing drug. Sprycel is an oral, targeted agent that is approved for the treatment of patients with CML who have stopped responding to Gleevec and for the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia Best cancer fighters from every supermarket aisle. Dangers at the nail salon. Is it Broken? Recipe Showdown - Hiral's & Elizabeth's Meatloaf Recipes!
Dr Oz - Brian Druker's Gleevec Miracle Cancer Pill
Today Dr oz was surrounded by people onstage that are cancer survivors, thanks to the the Miracle Pill For Cancer - Gleevec. These people were all dying from cancer at on time. Some were so sick they were living their past days in Hospice care.
They are all saying thanks to a Miracle Pill For Cancer - The discovery to getting cancer all together. Cancer treated everyone of those people with a death sentence, but instead every single one of them survived and living normal lives today.
The Miracle Cancer Pill Gleevec
The trials for Gleevec were staggering successful, nearly 100% of people treated for cancer went into complete remission. This cancer pill Gleevec is a revolutionary way to treat cancer. Gleevec targets and attacks only the cancer cells, leaving normal cells largely unharmed. A vast improvement over traditional chemotherapy that targets all fast growing cells and makes patients very sick.
Dr Brian Druker spearheaded the research on Gleevec(imatinib mesylate), determined to find a better solutions for his patients dying from a rare leukemia. Studies show the 5 year survival rate for patients treated with Gleevec is nearly 90%. And almost all patients show no signs of leukemia cells in their body.
This one drug Gleevec is approved to combat 10 different cancers, and now Doctor's are asking could the lessons learned from this miracle pill be one of the keys to preventing cancer.
Dr Gail Roboz joined Dr Oz and has seen this drug in action. Dr Roboz calls Gleevec life changing. It is life changing for the patients and life changing for research. She said there are a number of different tumours that have benefited from this drug. Gleevec was first approved to treat Chronic Myeloid Leukemia(CML).
Gleevec quickly became the treatment of choice for CML after its approval five years ago, and it is now also approved for a specific gastrointestinal cancer and several other rare malignancies.
What is Sprycel?
Sprycel is a cancer medication that slows the growth and spread of cancer cells in the body. It works by blocking proteins that cause the rapid growth of certain types of leukemia cells.
Sprycel is used to treat chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) and acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) when other cancer treatments have not been effective.
Sprycel Superior to High-dose Gleevec in Gleevec-resistant CML
"Sprycel (dasatinib) produces a higher response rate and improves progression-free survival in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) who have grown resistant to Gleevec (imatinib).
Sprycel is an oral, targeted agent that is approved for the treatment of patients with CML who have stopped responding to Gleevec and for the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).
Sprycel is reported to be 325-fold more active than Gleevec for inhibition of Bcr-Abl. In a recent study, 37 of 40 patients with chronic phase CML who had failed Gleevec therapy achieved a complete hematological remission. Sprycel also produced major hematological responses in 31 of 44 patients with more advanced CML or ALL. Major cytogenetic responses were observed in 45% of chronic phase patients and 35% of patients with more advanced disease. Responses were maintained in 95% of patients treated in chronic phase and 82% of patients treated in accelerated phase. Most patients with ALL or blastic phase CML had relapsed at the time of this report. The main side effect appeared to be myelosuppression."
Reference: Hochhaus A, Kantarjian HM, Baccarani M, et al. Dasatinib induces notable hematologic and cytogenetic responses in charonic-phase chronic myeloid leukemia after failure of imatinib therapy. Blood 2007;109:2303-2309.
Gllevec does not cure patients of their cancers; it keeps the cancers from growing. The simplest way to explain the way Gleevec works, it acts as a bandaid over the luekemic cells and prevents them from doing what they normally do which is produce an excessive amount of white blood cells. Patients taking Gleevec are recommended to maintain treatment for life to help avoid relapse of the disease. It's not yet clear why the drug is not able to cure the disease.
"The hope is that we can take patients with well-controlled disease and cure them, so they no longer need medication," Druker says. "But we are certainly quite happy to have a treatment that controls their disease."
Eleanor and Dr Oz used doll houses to explain how cancer therapies traditionally work to destroy cancer cells. He used a light as a symbol of the cancer and started to smash the doll house with a maul to explain what happens to the body when multiple hits were applied, as with cancer therapies - Chemo killing the good cells.
Dr Oz explains Dr Dukes method of targeting the specific cancer, and turning off the light is the same as turning off the protein that was forcing these cancer cells to grow out of control.
Eleanor had Cancer stage 4 Gastrointestinal Tumour 3 1/2 years ago today was the day she was diagnosed. Eleanor says it's a miracle pill, she feels wonderful. With this Gleevec treatment you don't lose your hair either.
Tim and Lacey also joined Dr oz and met Dr Brian Druker. Tracey was 12 years old she was hit in the nose with a softball, and was immediately rushed to the hospital and was told she broke her nose. A couple days later she wasn't feeling well, couldn't see straight, her head was hurting, on the fifth day at 4 in the morning her Dad knew something was wrong, her breathing was shallow and he couldn't wake her.
Tracey was rushed right into intensive care, hours later the neurosurgeon told him his daughter had Leukemia. Tracey went through 3 heavy rounds of chemo, lost all her hair. Doctors then put Tracey on 300 mg of Gleevec a day and the results were immediate. The Gleevec kept her blood out of the danger zone. Although Tracey hasn't been cured she can live a normal life.
DR OZ GLEEVEC And DR BRIAN DRUKER: Droz.com
"Targeted therapies are different from traditional cancer therapies. Chemotherapy kills all rapidly dividing cells, healthy or not. The drugs coarse through the blood stream and kill cells that are actively growing and dividing, a hallmark feature of cancer cells, but also one of some healthy cells too. That is why people who receive chemotherapy experience side effects such as hair loss, nausea and gastrointestinal symptoms because the cells of these systems are constantly turning over and dividing making them susceptible to chemotherapy.
Targeted therapies however are very specific about where they go. They are designed to zero in on a potentially vulnerable aspect of a cancer cell's life. Researchers study features of cancer cells that either don't exist in a healthy cell or are particularly unique to a specific cancer.
Targeted drug therapy can block proteins, enzymes and receptors that fuel cell growth. They can modify mechanisms that turn cell growth on and off, or cause cancer cells to wither away. Still other targets mimic the body's own immune system as antibodies that recognize and kill something that doesn't belong.
Molecular Targets - Monoclonal Antibodies
Molecular Targets
The first molecular target was found on the surface of certain breast cancer cells. A region on the cell's membrane had a particular affinity for estrogen. Estrogen can fuel the growth of some types of breast cancer but when the receptor was blocked, the cells were less likely to grow out of control. Several drugs have been specifically designed to hook into the estrogen receptor's spot, leaving estrogen out of the lurch.
Another well-known molecular target was developed for chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), a rare blood cancer. It was the first cancer to have a drug target intentionally designed to pull the plug on a cancer-fueling enzyme that has great growth-signaling powers. CML is a type of blood cancer caused by too many inefficient white blood cells in the bone marrow and blood, a potentially fatal scenario. But these badly behaving white blood cells have some unique molecular characteristics, making them ideal for targeted therapy.
Somehow, on CML-causing white blood cells, a region on chromosome 22 swaps with a region on chromosome 9, and this new arrangement produces the abnormal chromosome called the Philadelphia chromosome (named for the city where the discoverers lived). This abnormality is the key to the disease. Unfortunately the mutated Philadelphia chromosome makes an enzyme that keeps a cell’s divide signal in the "always on" position. And when the cells containing the Philadelphia chromosome flourish, they crowd out healthy cells, and the incompetent white blood cells grow unchecked.
Since almost all people with CML are Philadelphia positive (Ph+), Dr. Brian Druker, an oncologist at Oregon Health and Sciences University, proposed developing a drug to disable this enzyme. As a result many people with Ph+ CML, who once had few good treatment options, now have a chance at a disease-free life.
Monoclonal Antibodies
Antibodies can also be designed to become targeted therapies by recruiting them to do what they do best; zero in on a specific protein in or on a cell’s surface and mount an attack. If a cancer protein unique to a type of cancer is identified, an antibody can be designed to attack it. Then an exact copy or clone of that antibody can be engineered in a lab to match it (hence the name monoclonal antibody).
Some monoclonal antibodies targets carry a toxic payload along for the ride – a chemical or radioactive agent to increase the power of the attack. This is sometimes called immunotherapy, or radiotherapy if a radioactive agent is attached.
Patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma received the first monoclonal antibody developed to treat cancer and targets are either available or in development for almost all types of cancer."
Gleevec works by targeting, and turning off, specific proteins in cancer cells that cause the cancer cells to grow and multiply. GLEEVEC targets one cancer protein that causes Philadelphia chromosome positive chronic myeloid leukemia (Ph+ CML) and another cancer protein, called Kit, that is the suspected cause of gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST). However, GLEEVEC can also target other proteins not involved in causing Ph+ CML or Kit-positive GIST.
GLEEVEC.COM: (imatinib mesylate) tablets are indicated for:
- Newly diagnosed adult patients with Philadelphia chromosome–positive chronic myeloid leukemia (Ph+ CML) in the chronic phase (CP)
- Patients with Ph+ CML in blast crisis (BC), accelerated phase (AP), or in CP after failure of interferon-alpha therapy
- Adult patients with relapsed or refractory Ph+ acute lymphoblastic leukemia (Ph+ ALL)
- Adult patients with myelodysplastic/myeloproliferative diseases (MDS/MPD) associated with PDGFR (platelet-derived growth factor receptor) gene rearrangements
- Adult patients with aggressive systemic mastocytosis (ASM) without the D816V c-KIT mutation or with unknown mutational status
- Adult patients with hypereosinophilic syndrome (HES) and/or chronic eosinophilic leukemia (CEL) who have the FIP1L1-PDGFRα fusion kinase and for patients with HES and/or CEL who are FIP1L1-PDGFRα fusion kinase–negative or unknown
- Adult patients with dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans (DFSP) that cannot be surgically removed, keeps recurring, and/or has spread to other parts of the body
- Patients with KIT (CD117)–positive gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) that cannot be surgically removed and/or have spread to other parts of the body
- Adult patients after surgery who have had their GISTs completely removed
FDA-approved targeted therapies are listed below: Some targeted therapies block specific enzymes and growth factor receptors involved in cancer cell proliferation. These drugs are also called signal transduction inhibitors.
- Imatinib mesylate (Gleevec®) is approved to treat gastrointestinal stromal tumor (a rare cancer of the gastrointestinal tract) and certain kinds of leukemia. It targets several members of a class of proteins called tyrosine kinase enzymes that participate in signal transduction. These enzymes are overactive in some cancers, leading to uncontrolled growth. It is a small-molecule drug, which means that it can pass through cell membranes and reach targets inside the cell.
- Dasatinib (Sprycel®) is approved to treat some patients with CML or acute lymphoblastic leukemia. It is a small-molecule inhibitor of several tyrosine kinase enzymes.
- Nilotinib (Tasigna®) is approved to treat some patients with CML.
- Trastuzumab (Herceptin®) is approved for the treatment of certain types of breast cancer. It is a monoclonal antibody that binds to the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER-2). HER-2, a receptor with tyrosine kinase activity, is expressed at high levels in some breast cancers and also some other types of cancer.
Gefitinib (Iressa®) is approved to treat patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer. Its use is restricted to patients who, in the opinion of their treating physician, are currently benefiting, or have previously benefited, from gefitinib treatment.
- Erlotinib (Tarceva®) is approved to treat metastatic non-small cell lung cancer and pancreatic cancer that cannot be removed by surgery or has metastasized.
- Cetuximab (Erbitux®) is a monoclonal antibody that is approved for treating some patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck or colorectal cancer.
- Panitumumab (Vectibix®) is approved to treat some patients with metastatic colon cancer.
- Temsirolimus (Torisel®) is approved to treat patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma.
- Everolimus (Afinitor®) is approved to treat patients with advanced kidney cancer whose disease has progressed after treatment with other therapies. Other targeted therapies modify the function of proteins that regulate gene expression and other cellular functions.
- Vorinostat (Zolinza®) is approved for the treatment of CTCL that has persisted, progressed, or recurred during or after treatment with other medicines.
- Romidepsin (Istodax®) is approved for the treatment of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) in patients who have received at least one prior systemic therapy.
- Bexarotene (Targretin®) is approved for the treatment of some patients with CTCL. This drug belongs to a class of compounds called retinoids, which are chemically related to vitamin A.
- Alitretinoin (Panretin®) is approved for the treatment of cutaneous lesions in patients with AIDS-related Kaposi sarcoma.
- Tretinoin (Vesanoid®) is approved for the induction of remission in certain patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia. Some targeted therapies induce cancer cells to undergo apoptosis (cell death).
- Bortezomib (Velcade®) is approved to treat some patients with multiple myeloma. It is also approved for the treatment of some patients with mantle cell lymphoma.
- Pralatrexate (Folotyn®) is approved for the treatment of some patients with peripheral T-cell lymphoma. Other targeted therapies block the growth of blood vessels to tumors (angiogenesis). To grow beyond a certain size, tumors must obtain a blood supply to get the oxygen and nutrients needed for continued growth. Treatments that interfere with angiogenesis may block tumor growth.
- Bevacizumab (Avastin®) is a monoclonal antibody that is approved for the treatment of glioblastoma. It is also approved for some patients with non-small cell lung cancer, metastatic breast cancer, and metastatic colorectal cancer.
- Sorafenib (Nexavar®) is a small-molecule inhibitor of tyrosine kinases that is approved for the treatment of advanced renal cell carcinoma and some cases of hepatocellular carcinoma.
- Sunitinib (Sutent®) is another small-molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitor that is approved for the treatment of patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma or gastrointestinal stromal tumor that is not responding to imatinib.
- Pazopanib (Votrient®) is approved for the treatment of patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma.
Some targeted therapies act by helping the immune system to destroy cancer cells.
- Rituximab (Rituxan®) is a monoclonal antibody that is approved to treat certain types of B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
- Alemtuzumab (Campath®) is approved to treat patients with B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia.
- Ofatumumab (Arzerra®) is approved for the treatment of some patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) that does not respond to treatment with fludarabine and alemtuzumab.
Another class of targeted therapies includes monoclonal antibodies that deliver toxic molecules to cancer cells specifically.
- Gemtuzumab ozogamicin (Mylotarg®) is approved to treat some patients with acute myeloid leukemia.
- Tositumomab and 131I-tositumomab (Bexxar®) is approved to treat certain types of B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
- Ibritumomab tiuxetan (Zevalin®) is approved to treat some patients with B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
- Denileukin diftitox (Ontak®) is approved for the treatment of some patients with CTCL. Denileukin diftitox consists of interleukin-2 (IL-2) protein sequences fused to diphtheria toxin. The drug binds to cell surface IL-2 receptors, which are found on certain immune cells and some cancer cells, directing the cytotoxic action of the diphtheria toxin to these cells.
