Cancer Drug Shows Promise for Mantle Cell Lymphoma

Research has shown that the drug bortezomib (Velcade) blocks growth and kills mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) cells in a laboratory setting. The drug was recently approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treating multiple myeloma.

Using MCL cells obtained from biopsies and related MCL cell lines, researchers at the MD Anderson Cancer Center at the University of Texas (Houston, USA) examined the effect of Velcade on the NF-Kappa-B growth signal pathway, a key activator of lymphocyte growth. They found that Velcade inhibited this pathway, triggering the natural cell death of the lymphoma cells. The findings were reported in the July 1, 2003, issue of the Journal of Immunology.

"The study found that Velcade works on the fundamental regulators of cell growth, which means that, in addition to blood cancers, the drug has potential to treat cancers of the breast, colon, and prostate,” said Alan Kinniburgh, Ph.D., vice president of research administration at The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (White Plains, NY, USA), which funded the research.

Preliminary results from another phase II study showed that of 11 MCL patients treated with Velcade, three had complete responses, four had partial responses, and two experienced stable disease. The study was presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Chicago (IL, USA). Velcade is the product of Millennium Pharmaceuticals (Cambridge, MA, USA).




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